Critical Media Literacy and Civic Learning

Key Civics and Government Concepts

Defining Critical Media Literacy

Critical Media Literacy Guides

Topic 1. Foundations of the United States Political System

1.1 Social Media Policies and Community Standards on YouTube, Twitter, TikTok and More

1.2 The Internet as a Public Utility

1.3 21st Century Women STEM Innovators

1.4 Media Coverage of Kings, Queens, and Royal Families

1.5 Representations of Native Americans in Films, Local History Publications, and School Mascots

Topic 2. The Development of United States Government

2.1 Declarations of Independence on Social Media

2.2 Media Marketing and Government Regulation of Self-Driving Cars and Electric Vehicles

2.3 Representations of and Racism Toward Black Americans in the Media

2.4 Political Debates Through Songs from Hamilton: An American Musical

2.5 Bill of Rights on Twitter

Topic 3. Institutions of United States Government

3.1: Hollywood Movies About the Branches of Government

3.2: Writing an Impeachment Press Release

3.3: Members of Congress' Use of Social Media

3.4: Political Impacts of Public Opinion Polls

3.5: Website Design for New Political Parties

Topic 4. The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizens

4.1: Immigration in the News

4.2: Portrayals of Immigrants in Television and Film

4.3: COVID-19 Information Evaluation

4.4: Women Political Leaders in the Media

4.5: Online Messaging by Special Interest Groups

4.6: Digital Games for Civic Engagement

4.7: Social Media and the Elections

4.8: Images of Political Leaders and Political Power

4.9: Media Spin in the Coverage of Political Debates

4.10: Celebrities' Influence on Politics

4.11: Political Activism Through Social Media

4.12: Media Recruitment of Public Sector Workers

4.13 Deciding What Books Students Read in School

4.14: Images of Teachers and Teaching

4.15: For Whom Is and Could Your School Be Named

4.16: Representing Trans Identities

4.17: Media Framing of the Events of January 6, 2021

4.18: Music as Protest Art

4.19: PACs, Super PACs, and Unions in the Media

4.20 Brands and Politics

Topic 5. The Constitution, Amendments, and Supreme Court Decisions

5.1: Prohibition in the Media

5.2: The Equal Rights Amendment on Twitter and Other Social Media

5.3: Civil War Era News Stories and Recruitment Advertisements

5.4: Representations of Gender and Race on U.S. Currency

5.5: The Equality Act on Twitter

5.6: Reading Supreme Court Dissents Aloud

5.7: Television Cameras in Courtrooms

Topic 6. The Structure of State and Local Government

6.1: Native American Mascots and Logos

6.2: A Constitution for the Internet

6.3: Military Recruitment and the Media

6.4: Your Privacy on Social Media

6.5: Pandemic Policy Information in the Media

6.6: Gendered Language in Media Coverage of Women in Politics

6.7: Gender-Neutral Marketing of Toys

6.8: Environmental Campaigns Using Social Media

6.9: Plastics and the Media

6.10: Trusted Messengers, the Media, and the Pandemic

6.11: Online Campaigning for Political Office

6.12: Advertising the Lottery Online and In Print

6.13: Local Governments, Social Media and Digital Democracy

6.14: Protecting the Commons

Topic 7. Freedom of the Press and News/Media Literacy

7.1: Press Freedom in the United States and the World

7.2: Objectivity and Reporting the News from All Sides

7.3: Investigative Journalism and Social Change

7.4: News Photographs & Newspaper Design

7.5: How Reporters Report Events

7.6: Recommendation Algorithms on Social Media Platforms

7.7: YouTube Content Creators

7.8: Fake News Investigation and Evaluation

7.9: Paywalls and Access to Online News

7.10: Critical Visual Analysis of Online and Print Media

7.11: Memes and TikToks as Political Cartoons

7.12: Women Reporters in the Movies

7.13: Design a 21st Century Indie Bookstore

7.14: Greenwashing and the Media

7.15: AI Writing Tools, Politics, and History

Introduction

Critical Media Literacy and Civic Learning

Welcome to Critical Media Literacy and Civic Learning - an interactive, multimodal, multicultural, open access eBook for teaching and learning key topics in United States Government and Civic Life. Open access means these materials are online, digital, and free of charge (Billings, 2019). This book is available online to anyone with an internet connection. The eBook can also be viewed and printed as a PDF file for offline viewing.

Watch on YouTube

Developed as a companion edition to our Building Democracy for All eBook (2020), Critical Media Literacy and Civic Learning (2021) features more than 100 interactive media literacy learning activities for students organized around key topics in civics, government, and history education derived from the Massachusetts 8th Grade Civics and Government curriculum framework.

Senior Contributing Authors

Robert W. Maloy, Senior Lecturer, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Torrey Trust, Associate Professor of Learning Technology, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Chenyang Xu, Graduate Student, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Allison Butler, Senior Lecturer & Director of Undergraduate Advising, Director of Media Literacy Certificate Program, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Media Literacy Project Team

Ifat Gazia, Graduate Student, University of Massachusetts Amherst

J.D. Swerzenski, Graduate Student, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Yuxi (Cecilia) Zhou, Graduate Student, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Natalie Passov, Undergraduate Student, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Eleanor Sprick, Undergraduate Student, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Benjamin Mendillo, Undergraduate Student, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Kyle Balis, Undergraduate Student, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Kendra Sleeper, Undergraduate Student, University of Massachusetts Amherst

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the University of Massachusetts Amherst
Interdisciplinary Faculty Research Award for this project.

Awards

The team was awarded the 2023 MERLOT Award — Bob Maloy, Torrey Trust, Allison Butler, and Chenyang Xu were awarded the 2023 MERLOT Classics Award

2021 Winner Learning Technologies Team - eLearning Consortium of Colorado — Bob Maloy, Torrey Trust, Allison Butler, and Chenyang Xu were honored for their collaborative work on this eBook project with the 2021 Learning Technologies Team Award.

This content is provided to you freely by EdTech Books.

Access it online or download it at https://edtechbooks.org/mediaandciviclearning/introduction.