Reconceptualizing Media Literacy Through McLuhan's Figure/Ground Analysis

• In Event: 56.082 - Poster Session 12
  In Poster Session: 56.082-2 - Diverse Research, Participation, and Voices in Digital Media and Learning

Abstract

This paper employs a technique known as figure/ground analysis to outline a media literacy pedagogy for the digital age. A figure is what you consciously identify in your environment; ground are the things you ignore. The ground provides the conditions under which a figure emerges and as such helps to shape perception of that figure. Thus, media literacy from this perspective entails fostering a pedagogy of perception that reveals the hidden ground of various media environments, leaving them open for critical inspection. Figure/ground analysis can help students become more critical and conscientious viewers and users of media technologies, while also increasing their awareness and attunement to a variety of lived environments.

Author

• Lance E Mason, Indiana University - Kokomo