Media Literacy is a life-long learning process. U.S. media literacy theorist W. James Potter acknowledges, “We all occupy some position on the media literacy continuum. There is no point below which we could say that someone has no literacy, and there is no point at the high end where we can say that someone is fully literate – there is always room for improvement.” At Blackburn College, all communications majors and minors are required to take a three-credit Media Literacy course. For most students, this is the first step on their life-long learning journey.
In this course students are introduced to the principles of Media Literacy, including media codes, ideas of reality, construction, preferred meaning, audience positioning and representation. These principles help students think critically about the information communicated via mass media. By examining theories and key concepts of media literacy as well as their own media consumption patterns and behaviors, students will develop the skills necessary to deconstruct mass media information.
Now celebrating its 175th anniversary, Blackburn College is a four-year, Presbyterian-related, co-educational liberal arts college located in Carlinville, Illinois. Blackburn offers students a four-year head start on life after college by providing a fully integrated program of excellent academics, professional preparation, and leadership and decision-making experience within a community of leaders. One of seven work colleges in the U.S., and the only one with a student managed Work Program, Blackburn was recently ranked by US News as the 2012 #2 Best Value College in the Midwest. The school remains the least expensive, residential liberal arts college in the state. For more information, visitBlackburn.edu.
