Critical media literacy for uncertain times: Promoting student reflexivity

Abstract

Developments in information and communication technologies (ICTs) add urgency to the claim that democracy requires media literate citizens. The purpose of this paper is to support media engagement by youth in a context characterized by the spread of misinformation through the very technologies that promise to democratize public debate. Rejecting literacy as a "skill", our work illustrates how informed judgment during media engagement can be promoted by student reflexivity. Drawing on our research with teachers, we identify six modes of student reflexivity: personal, affective, evidentiary, analytical, ethical, and political. Each mode can be prompted through a line of questioning that attends to the role of media engagement in re/constituting the social world, offline as well as online. These modes prepare youth for an active citizenship promoting social justice through what we call "critical social literacy". Copyright: