Digital media literacy refers to the ability to "access, analyse, evaluate, create and act through all forms of communication". Our professional and private lives are increasingly surrounded by digital media technologies. As digital media becomes increasingly evident in its important role in our situation and environment, we need new and dynamic critical skills to navigate this new digital environment. At a time when most of our information comes from social media, it is more important than ever that future generations understand the mechanism behind the digital media ecosystem. This course aims to help students navigate 21st century media by becoming active, aware and responsible media users, not just passive consumers. Today's information and entertainment technologies communicate with us through a powerful combination of words, images and sounds. Therefore, we need to develop a broader set of literacy skills that will help us understand the messages we receive and use these tools effectively to design and distribute our messages. The course combines both synchronic and diachronic approaches and focuses on the history of media literacy, but also considers how traditional and digital media work, while also reflecting on the roles (i.e., agency, practices, and responsibilities) of the individual and society.
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