"Reading the World" Through Camera Lens: Using Social Documentary Photography for Secondary Students' Civic Engagement

• In Event: Sharing Knowledge, Sharing Stories, Sharing Selves: Multimodal Media Composition in and out of Schools

Abstract

Rooted in foundations of critical media literacy and multimodal learning, the Multimodal Literacy Initiative (MLI, pseudonym) - a program of a non-profit documentary photography platform - works with students and educators in underserved communities to use documentary photography as a critical tool of literacy development, learning, and civic engagement. This ethnographic case study examines a group of secondary-level students’ engagement with an MLI project over a ten-week period. It explores how both the study and production of social documentary photography - substantive sources of research and communication - impact the educational experiences of at-risk youth. The study aims to help teachers, teacher-educators, and researchers better understand students’ engagement with documentary work, and uncover best practices for its integration into school curricula.

Authors

• Kate Way, University of Massachusetts - Amherst
  Presenting Author

• Xiaoyun Song, University of Massachusetts - Amherst
  Presenting Author