This is the second part of our interview with author Steve Connolly. Read part one here. HC: I think that the idea that media and Media Studies are ever-changing, responding to the contemporary moment, and flexible is really a central idea that you address in the book. In many ways, it challenges a lot of the ways we conceptualize knowledge within these studies. How are … [Read more...] about Knowledge: A Conversation with Steve Connolly (Part 2)
Knowledge: A Conversation with Steve Connolly (Part One)
In his recent book, Knowledge and Knowing in Media and Film Studies, Associate Professor Steve Connolly examines the nature of knowledge in curricular Media and Film Studies, tracing the nascent subjects’ genealogies. Knowledge, much like the subjects it appraises, effectively bridges the theoretical and the practical. Connolly offers a complex analysis of epistemology within … [Read more...] about Knowledge: A Conversation with Steve Connolly (Part One)
Considered Conversations in Complexity
Reflections from the JML Editorial Team: Karen Ambrosh, Belinha De Abreu, Hannah Conner, and Grace Msauki IC4ML has just published its fifth online issue of The Journal of Media Literacy (JML) since transforming from a print journal for over fifty years. With the help of courageous guest editors and creative authors willing to share their work in different ways, we are … [Read more...] about Considered Conversations in Complexity
A conversation with IREX Fellow Grace Msauki
I sat down to speak with Grace Msauki over Zoom one August morning. Our conversation was sprawling, covering Grace’s passion for community development, exploring her expertise in information literacy, and imagining her vision for a media literate future. Calling in from Milwaukee, WI, Grace retraced the first weeks of her 4-month internship as an IREX Community Solutions … [Read more...] about A conversation with IREX Fellow Grace Msauki
Expressive Speech: Ruminations on 303 Creative LLC
On June 30, 2023, the United States Supreme Court released its ruling in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis. The court ruled that Colorado-based web designer and graphic artist Lorie Smith could lawfully refuse to create websites for same-sex “weddings.” This ruling, centered around the oscillating and amorphous idea of “expressive speech,” involves many concepts and … [Read more...] about Expressive Speech: Ruminations on 303 Creative LLC
Kids and Kracauer: Screens in Classrooms
For the past year, I have been working as a pre-K educator at a public community school. Working with four- and five- year-old children has been an enlightening experience. It has been a lesson in patience, a test of endurance, and a reminder of all the love and affirmation kids offer. As I teach my class the foundations of literacy, I have frequently been reflecting on media … [Read more...] about Kids and Kracauer: Screens in Classrooms
Cover Art: A Human Algorithmic Collaboration
The title of a given artwork can be particularly revealing. It can reveal the work’s medium, divulge the art’s epoch, or even give insight into the artist’s inspirations. The title of the cover image for the Journal of Media Literacy’s “Human Algorithmic Question” issue is likewise telling. At first glance, “Art by MidJourney with prompting and curation by Scott Werner and Safa … [Read more...] about Cover Art: A Human Algorithmic Collaboration
IREX Community Solution International Intern Comes to IC4ML
IC4ML is excited to welcome Safa Sadeddine, an IREX Community Solutions Program Fellow from Algeria to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for a 4-month internship from August through November. She brings with her an incredible skill set as a social media content creator and a media literacy educator in her home country. Through her collaboration with our board members and other interns, we … [Read more...] about IREX Community Solution International Intern Comes to IC4ML
Looking back at Madison: Reflections on the 4th IMLRS
On June 27, 2022, I had the pleasure of welcoming Media Literacy advocates from around the world to my hometown of Madison, Wisconsin. Alongside the International Council for Media Literacy (IC4ML), I helped host the fourth International Media Literacy Research Symposium (IMLRS) founded by our President and my supervisor Dr. Belinha De Abreu. At first, it seemed a … [Read more...] about Looking back at Madison: Reflections on the 4th IMLRS
Facebook’s Metaverse, Virtual Reality, and Bertolt Brecht
On October 28, 2021, CEO and founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, first announced the corporation’s rebrand. The social media company would now be called Meta, and Meta would henceforth focus on a new platform: the metaverse. The term metaverse is an amalgam of the Greek prefix meta, meaning beyond or transcending, and -verse, short for universe (López-Díez). The metaverse … [Read more...] about Facebook’s Metaverse, Virtual Reality, and Bertolt Brecht
“Africa, I Will Fleece You” —Media’s Power & Influence
“Does a crime against humanity exist only when the victims are white,” asks the Cameroonian filmmaker Jean-Marie Teno in his first feature-length documentary, Africa, I Will Fleece You(original title, Afrique, je the plumerai). I first came across the 90 minute film last Fall in a French course, and I was immediately enthralled. Released in 1992, Africa, I Will Fleece You … [Read more...] about “Africa, I Will Fleece You” —Media’s Power & Influence
Lil Nas X
About a month or so ago, I got into a vehement argument with a good friend of mine. Our passionate conversation escalated quickly, and it reached a newfound intensity for most of our debates. And yet, the debate emerged from a very casual, unassuming subject: a music video. We discussed Rapper and Popstar Lil Nas X’s “MONTERO (Call me by your name)” music video. In part, I … [Read more...] about Lil Nas X
René Magritte and Media Literacy
I do not believe that I would be farfetched in claiming that the Belgian Surrealist René Magritte’s painting The Treachery of Images(1928-1929) remains among the world’s most ubiquitous works of art. The image is familiar: a brown pipe with a black stem rests in front of a beige background. Magritte has given the pipe dimension: it curves smoothly and it seems to reflect an … [Read more...] about René Magritte and Media Literacy
Heuristics (…why we’re susceptible to disinformation)
With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, misinformation, or mistaken information, and disinformation, intentionally falsified information, became increasingly pervasive. Conspiracy theories saturated corners of the internet, wholly emerging into both political discourse and kitchen-table gossip. From outlandish claims that 5G cell phone towers spurred the pandemic to overtly … [Read more...] about Heuristics (…why we’re susceptible to disinformation)
My Introduction to Media Literacy
I first came across media literacy not as an advocate nor as a teacher but as a high school senior in 2017. My junior year of high school coincided with the 2016 Presidential election. Buzzwords like “fake news” and “disinformation” saturated the pixels on my computer screen, and questions about journalistic integrity and objectivity permeated the very ink of the articles I … [Read more...] about My Introduction to Media Literacy
