REEL DIVERSITYA Community Model of Teaching Difference & Social Justice

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What is Media Literacy?

…a framework to access, analyze, evaluate, and create messages in a

variety of forms…

…builds an understanding of the role of media in society as well as essential skills of inquiry and self-expression

necessary for citizens of a democracy

Center for Media Literacy, 2008

ML Core Concepts

All media messages are constructed. Media messages are constructed using

a creative language with its own rules. Different people experience the same

message differently. Media have embedded values and

points of view. Most media messages are organized to

gain profit and/or power. Center for Media Literacy (2008)

Keys to Diversity Education

1. Create a common lexicon Must include the systemic nature of

oppression (not just individual acts)

2. Focus on issues and principles rather than identity politics

3. Include the “majority” perspective

4. Value open dialogue (don’t be scared)

5. Ask good questions

Types of Questions

Develop questions that get at…1. What makes this message seem realistic or

unrealistic?

2. How does this message fit with your lived experience of the world?

3. What social or ideological messages are a part of the message’s subtext?

4. What kinds of behaviors and consequences are depicted?

5. What is omitted from this message?

6. Whose point of view is presented? Center for Media Literacy (2008)

Diversity = Difference

a characteristic that distinguishes one person from another or from an assumed “norm,” or the state of being

distinguished by such characteristics.

Stitch: The Movie (2003)

Questions to consider

Because Stitch’s differences are so pronounced, it is hard for him to fit in. What types of differences are easy to see in our society? What areas of diversity are invisible?

How would you answer this question: Who are the students who feel most culturally safe/unsafe in our campus community? Who might be called “freaky?”

Dimensions of Diversity

Gender

Age

Race

Sexuality

Nationality

Religion

Class

Ability

Geographic

LinguisticThese impact our understanding of our personal and societal

values, manners of expression, communication styles, and other cultural orientations

Beauty Shop (2005)a cultural notion of what it is to be a woman or a man; a construct based on the social shaping of femininity and masculinity. Gender includes subjective concepts about character traits and expected behaviors that vary from place to place and person to person.

Gender

The Process of “Diversity”

OPPRESSION

DISCRIMINATION

PREJUDICE

STEREOTYPE

DIFFERENCE

Stereotype

an exaggerated belief, image, or distorted truth about a person or group—a generalization that allows for little or no individual differences or social variation.

Prejudice

an opinion, prejudgment or attitude formed with the perception of sufficient

knowledge about a group or its members.

Pocahantas (1995)

Possible Questions

Which forms of prejudice are most socially acceptable, and which are least acceptable? Why are some forms more acceptable than others?

How would you respond to a close friend or family member who made some type of prejudiced comment? Would your reaction be different if it were a stranger or acquaintance?

Discrimination

unequal treatment of people based on their membership in a

group

Addams Family Values (1993)

You Try It…

After viewing this clip from Addams Family Values, what types of questions could you ask your students that would provoke

cross-cultural dialogue?

Oppression

the systematic, institutionalized mistreatment of one group of

people by another for any reason. Oppression is based on

a complicated and changing network of unequal power

relations

Pleasantville (1998)

Multiple Manifestations

SOCIAL JUSTICE is the Key

a combination of laws, behaviors, and attitudes

promoting equal rights and fair treatment of all members of

society. The practice of social justice includes resistance to racism, sexism, classism, and

other forms of oppression.

The Great Debaters (2007)

Kingdom of Heaven (2005)

THANK YOU!

Enjoy the rest of the conference!