UCLA Center for the Study of Women

Because our society is immersed in Media 24/7, it is essential that students learn how to understand, interpret, and criticize the meaning and messages of media culture. Teaching critical media literacy can be, as the eminent scholar and pedagogue, bell hooks (1994) describes it, a liberatory experience for both teacher and student. Yet, the scarcity of culturally critical media classes, especially those that involve media production, owes much to the lack of credibility afforded such courses. This dearth is also owing to limited technological support afforded such courses. In this introductory essay, I will argue for the necessity of these types of courses at all levels of education and briefly describe the history and format of my course.