Genesis and evolution of media (in) education

Genesis of questioning practices

Media literacy as an extension of the practice of rhetoric, developed during the 5th century B.C. to teach the art of politics through the development of oratory and critical thinking. It’s also possible to see its roots in the emergence of film as a tool for teaching and learning, particularly in the development of language, critical analysis, and literacy skills. (Hobbs and Jensen 2009)

Our journey through MIL education history  and critical thinking begins as early as 5^th century in Greece it also goes through the lenses of cinema projector (early 1920s in Paris the cinema club movement)  or digital binary codes in the matrix (computer science). But MIL education is not just about technologies, but as it is about questioning practices that deepen analysis and reflection (Hobbs and Jensen 2009). These questioning practices in the beginning of MIL history, were just a spurts of knowledge. The formal use of MIL in education came only in 1980s with UNESCOS GRUNWALD DECLARATION ON MEDIA EDUCATION:

We live in a world where media are omnipresent: an increasing number of people spend a great deal of time watching television, reading newspapers and magazines, playing records and listening to the radio. In some countries, for example, children already spend more time watching television than they do attending school.[1]

However this is a story for another chapter on MIL policies and politics. What is important in this journey is how these questioning practices looked like back in the early days. How we improved our critical thinking before the age of distant learning.

From Finer things club[2] culture to formal education

In the early 1920s in Paris the cinema club movement emerged, with the distinct media education aims. As early as in 1922 the first national conference of the regional departments of film education (Offices regionaux du cinema educateur) was held in France. (Fedorov 2008)

Social clubs, social – elite societies in university campuses and outside them had a finer things culture. Back in 19^th century, these club members appreciated arts as wells as talked about politics, discussed literature. In a way these clubs as well as cinema club movements used the same questioning practices. J.R.R Tolkien belonged to The Inklings[3] club were they discussed literature. But these clubs in way were closed and for members only, therefore there was the need for professional media (in 1920 cinema) educators and media education. Fedorov (2008) wrote about this shift from club movements to institutionalization of cinema educators:  

At one of the congresses on education it was suggested to prepare the cinema educators in universities (Martineau, 1988: 28). At the same time a lot of educational institutions were actively promoting the movement of young journalists. Thanks to C.Freinet’s good graces school, lyceum and university newspapers were published (Freinet, 1927)

Including films in formal education curriculum

Film literacy is another important part of MIL in general, as it helps to developpe young people’s cultural identities and understanding. In 2014, Creative Europe MEDIA introduced a ‘Film Literacy’ scheme. It seems quite late to recognize the need for formal and informal film literacy education, but inf fact it has been done as early as motion pictures were created.

When John Dewey explained that learners’ lived experiences and concerns about their own day-to-day environment are at the root of the meaning-making process, he was writing at a time when children of the early 20th century were beginning to make their first regular visits to the nickelodeon theatres of the big cities, where Thomas Edison1 and his associates were beginning to create and distribute a wide variety of narrative and non-fiction films.(Hobbs and Jensen 2009)

As we see from the MIL history there were a practice to include films in formal education curriculum as early as 1920s. Of course today the use of films has a very important place among the alternative teaching tools, which can be used for achieving effective learning by helping to gather students’ interest for the learning material(Derelioǧlu and Şar 2010)

Futuristic Cross-disciplinary MIL

In the second half of the 20th century, new visions of media literacy were emerging as the field of communication began to develop in American universities and around the world. Many scholars and educators were influenced by cross-disciplinary work in the humanities and social sciences by scholars like Walter Ong, Louis Mumford, Jacques Ellul, Roland Barthes, Harold Innis and Marshall McLuhan.(Hobbs and Jensen 2009)

Back in 50s MIL history switched to the new visions or futuristic[4] media literacy. Without focusing on the names of these futurist authors and researchers (this is a content of another MIL chapters) lets’ look why this transformation was important for the further development of MIL education.

What was once separated by thousands of miles is now accessible to any person who has access to an Internet capable device and a place to “hook in.” One can read about the Arab Spring in Al Jazeera, The New York Times, The Guardian, and from any host of micro-bloggers who live-tweeted the events as they happened. A teacher in the United States can partner with a teacher anywhere in the world and the two classes could learn about each other, their cultures, and languages. (Boxley 2015)

Interconnectedness, cross-discipline and cross-cultural communication of network society[5] opened MIL to a global audience. It seems that as the fast evolution of computer sciences created a non-stopping flow of information, there was a need for reflecting this information. In fact as much as we gained from the information age, the same amount we lost. The side effects may vary from insomnia, eyestrain, and increased anxiety and depression to cross-cultural conflicts, disinformation, hybrid information wars. In order to avoid these side effects, MIL education is like a medicine that has to be taken regularly. With COVID-19 pandemic we also experienced infodemic, polarization of societies, cyber-attacks, protests on the streets and online. The more information we have the less we know. Bu Aldous Huxley said: “The more you know, the more you see.” Going back to the reason for MIL education, we can say that the more we question, the more we are open,  the more we see. MIL history cannot be changed, but we can change the future.

Questions and tasks

1. Why elite club culture was important for MIL?
2. How can films be used in formal education and what subjects can we teach with films?
3. What are the side effects of media use?
4. What is the future of MIL?
5. How can you explain Aldous Huxley’s quote: “The more you know, the more you see.”?

References

Boxley, Simon. 2015. “Critical Education Studies.” Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies 13(3):97–109.

Derelioǧlu, Yasemin, and Evren Şar. 2010. “The Use of Films on History Education in Primary Schools: Problems and Suggestions.” Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences 9(2010):2017–20. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.12.439.

Fedorov, Alexander. 2008. “MEDIA EDUCATION AROUND THE WORLD: BRIEF HISTORY.” 1(2):55–62. doi: 10.1146/annurev.physiol.64.081601.142703.

Hobbs, Renee, and Amy Jensen. 2009. “The Past , Present , and Future of Media Literacy Education.” Journal of Media Literacy Education 1:1–11.

[1] http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CI/CI/pdf/theme_media_literacy_grunwald_declaration.pdf

[2] The Finer Things Club is considered by some to be the most exclusive club in the office. They meet once a month to discuss books and art and celebrate culture “in a very civilized way.” As stated by Pam, “there is no paper, no plastic and no work talk allowed.”

[3] The Inklings were an informal literary discussion group associated with J. R. R. Tolkien at the University of Oxford for nearly two decades between the early 1930s and late 1949.

[4] https://mcluhangalaxy.wordpress.com/2010/11/10/marshall-mcluhan-futurist/

[5] https://www.soas.ac.uk/cedep-demos/000_P523_MKD_K3637-Demo/unit1/page_10.htm