Importance of Media Literacy Instruction: An Investigation of Gay and Lesbian Youth in Popular Television

• In Event: Poster Session 3
  In Poster Session: Memes, Popular Culture, and Digital Storytelling Across Multiple and Critical Literacies

Abstract

Young adults in the 21st century live in a media saturated world. The media system, like the educational system, is “one of society’s key set of institutions, industries, and cultural practices” (Masterman, 2001, p.6). The media is invoked to mean not only the mediums of communication, such as the radio, internet, film, print, music, and television, but also the products of these mediums—newspaper and magazine articles, film and television productions, websites, social media, and even video games. In this study we, as action researchers interested in the implications of media literacy within teacher preparation programs, reflect on our experiences introducing queer theory through the lens of media literacy within the context of a young adult literature and media course.

Authors

• Divonna M. Stebick, Gettysburg College

• Sean Robinson, Morgan State University