This book provides critical commentary on key issues around virtual reality, using media technology as a tool to challenge perspectives for learning and understanding cultural diversities. With a focus on empathy, embodiment and ethics, the book interrogates the use of immersive technologies for formal and informal educational contexts. Taking a critical approach to discourses around emerging technology and learning, the book presents the idea that a new literacy is emerging and an emphasis on media and technology is needed in the context of education to explore and experience cultural diversities. Employing a personal reflexive narrative, the chapters highlight key issues through research and interviews with leading practitioners in the field. Understanding Virtual Reality will be of great interest to academics and students interested in the effects of immersive realities on the education experience, and to anyone keen on exploring the paradigm shift from entertainment to education.

Revisiting Richard Hoggart's classic work The Uses of Literacy (1957), this book applies Hoggart's framework to media literacy today, examining media literacy's various uses, the tensions between them and what this means for people, communities and the contemporary configurations of social class. In The Uses of Literacy (1957), Richard Hoggart wrote about how his working class community, in the North of England, were at once using the new 'mass literacy' for self-improvement, education, social mobility and civic engagement and, at the same time, the powerful were seizing the opportunity also to use this expansion in literacy, through the new popular culture, for commercial and political ends. Working in the intersection between education, cultural studies and literacies, the authors write about media literacy as a contested, under-theorised field through Hoggart's 'line of sight' to provide a perspective on media literacy and working class culture today. This reimagining of a classic work, piercingly relevant to studies of class in Britain in 2019, will be of key interest to scholars in Media Studies, as well as interested readers in Communication Studies, Literacy Studies, Cultural Studies, Politics and Sociology.

This book provides critical commentary on key issues around virtual reality, using media technology as a tool to challenge perspectives for learning and understanding cultural diversities. With a focus on empathy, embodiment and ethics, the book interrogates the use of immersive technologies for formal and informal educational contexts. Taking a critical approach to discourses around emerging technology and learning, the book presents the idea that a new literacy is emerging and an emphasis on media and technology is needed in the context of education to explore and experience cultural diversities. Employing a personal reflexive narrative, the chapters highlight key issues through research and interviews with leading practitioners in the field. Understanding Virtual Reality will be of great interest to academics and students interested in the effects of immersive realities on the education experience, and to anyone keen on exploring the paradigm shift from entertainment to education.

Contemporary popular culture is engaged in a rich and multi-levelled set of representational relations with austerity. This volume seeks to explore these relations, to ask: how does popular culture give expression to austerity; how are its effects conveyed; how do texts reproduce and expose its mythic qualities? It provides a reading of cultural texts in circulation in the present 'age of austerity'. Through its central focus-popular culture-it considers the impact and influence of austerity across media and textual categories. The collection presents a theoretical deconstruction of popular culture's reproduction of, and response to, mythical expressions of 'austerity' in Western culture, spanning the United Kingdom, North America, Europe and the Middle East and textual events from political media discourse, music, videogames, social media, film, television, journalism, folk art, food, protest movements, slow media and the practice of austerity in everyday life

This is Barthes' seminal text reimagined in a contemporary context by contemporary academics. Through a revisiting of Mythologies, a key text in cultural and media studies, this volume explores the value these disciplines can add to an understanding of contemporary society and culture. Leading academics in media, English, education, and cultural studies here are tasked with identifying the "new mythologies" some fifty or so years on from Barthes' original interventions. The contributions in this volume, then, are readings of contemporary culture, each engaging with a cultural event, practice, or text as mythological. These readings are then contextualized by an introduction which reflects on the 'how' of these engaging responses and an "essay at the back of the book" which replaces Myth Today with a reflection on the contemporary provenance of both Barthes and his most famous book. Thus the book is at least two things at once whichever way you look: a 'new' Mythologies and a book about Barthes' legacy, an exploration of the place of theory in critical writing, and a book about contemporary culture.

This is Barthes' seminal text reimagined in a contemporary context by contemporary academics. Through a revisiting of Mythologies, a key text in cultural and media studies, this volume explores the value these disciplines can add to an understanding of contemporary society and culture. Leading academics in media, English, education, and cultural studies here are tasked with identifying the "new mythologies" some fifty or so years on from Barthes' original interventions. The contributions in this volume, then, are readings of contemporary culture, each engaging with a cultural event, practice, or text as mythological. These readings are then contextualized by an introduction which reflects on the 'how' of these engaging responses and an "essay at the back of the book" which replaces Myth Today with a reflection on the contemporary provenance of both Barthes and his most famous book. Thus the book is at least two things at once whichever way you look: a 'new' Mythologies and a book about Barthes' legacy, an exploration of the place of theory in critical writing, and a book about contemporary culture.

This provocative text considers the state of media and cultural studies today after the demolition of the traditional media paradigm, and engages with the new, active consumer culture.

Media Studies, particularly within schools, has until recently been concerned with mass media and the effects of 'the media' in society and on people. As new media technology has blurred the boundaries between the audience and the media, the status of this area of education is threatened. Whilst some have called for a drastic re-think (Media Studies 2.0), others have called for caution, arguing that the power dynamics of ownership and gatekeeping are left intact.

This book uses cultural and technological change as a context for a more forensic exploration of the traditional dependence on the idea of 'the media' as one homogenous unit. It suggests that it would be liberating for students, teachers and academics to depart from such a model and shift the focus to people and how they create culture in this contemporary 'mediascape'.

Contemporary popular culture is engaged in a rich and multi-levelled set of representational relations with austerity. This volume seeks to explore these relations, to ask: how does popular culture give expression to austerity; how are its effects conveyed; how do texts reproduce and expose its mythic qualities? It provides a reading of cultural texts in circulation in the present 'age of austerity'. Through its central focus-popular culture-it considers the impact and influence of austerity across media and textual categories. The collection presents a theoretical deconstruction of popular culture's reproduction of, and response to, mythical expressions of 'austerity' in Western culture, spanning the United Kingdom, North America, Europe and the Middle East and textual events from political media discourse, music, videogames, social media, film, television, journalism, folk art, food, protest movements, slow media and the practice of austerity in everyday life

Fully updated and revised, the second edition of Media Studies: The Basics is the ideal guide to the changing landscape of media and Media Studies. There have been seismic shifts in what constitutes (the) media in recent years with technological advances ushering in whole new categories of producers, consumers and modes of delivery. This has been reflected in the way media is studied with new theories, concepts and practices coming to the fore. This new edition addresses core questions including: Who, or what, are the media? What are the key terms and concepts used in analysing media? Where have new media technologies had the biggest impact? How, and by whom, is media made in the 21st century? Featuring new case studies, an updated glossary and suggestions for further reading, this is the ideal introduction to Media Studies today for both A Level and undergraduate students.

This provocative text considers the state of media and cultural studies today after the demolition of the traditional media paradigm, and engages with the new, active consumer culture.

Media Studies, particularly within schools, has until recently been concerned with mass media and the effects of the media in society and on people. As new media technology has blurred the boundaries between the audience and the media, the status of this area of education is threatened. Whilst some have called for a drastic re-think (Media Studies 2.0), others have called for caution, arguing that the power dynamics of ownership and gatekeeping are left intact.

This book uses cultural and technological change as a context for a more forensic exploration of the traditional dependence on the idea of the media as one homogenous unit. It suggests that it would be liberating for students, teachers and academics to depart from such a model and shift the focus to people and how they create culture in this contemporary mediascape .

Revisiting Richard Hoggart's classic work The Uses of Literacy (1957), this book applies Hoggart's framework to media literacy today, examining media literacy's various uses, the tensions between them and what this means for people, communities and the contemporary configurations of social class. In The Uses of Literacy (1957), Richard Hoggart wrote about how his working class community, in the North of England, were at once using the new 'mass literacy' for self-improvement, education, social mobility and civic engagement and, at the same time, the powerful were seizing the opportunity also to use this expansion in literacy, through the new popular culture, for commercial and political ends. Working in the intersection between education, cultural studies and literacies, the authors write about media literacy as a contested, under-theorised field through Hoggart's 'line of sight' to provide a perspective on media literacy and working class culture today. This reimagining of a classic work, piercingly relevant to studies of class in Britain in 2019, will be of key interest to scholars in Media Studies, as well as interested readers in Communication Studies, Literacy Studies, Cultural Studies, Politics and Sociology.

At the forefront in its field, this Handbook examines the theoretical, conceptual, pedagogical and methodological development of media literacy education and research around the world. Building on traditional media literacy frameworks in critical analysis, evaluation, and assessment, it incorporates new literacies emerging around connective technologies, mobile platforms, and social networks. A global perspective rather than a Western-centric point of view is explicitly highlighted, with contributors from all continents, to show the empirical research being done at the intersection of media, education, and engagement in daily life. Structured around five themes-Educational Interventions; Safeguarding/Data and Online Privacy; Engagement in Civic Life; Media, Creativity and Production; Digital Media Literacy-the volume as a whole emphasizes the competencies needed to engage in meaningful participation in digital culture.

Fully updated and revised, the second edition of Media Studies: The Basics is the ideal guide to the changing landscape of media and Media Studies. There have been seismic shifts in what constitutes (the) media in recent years with technological advances ushering in whole new categories of producers, consumers and modes of delivery. This has been reflected in the way media is studied with new theories, concepts and practices coming to the fore. This new edition addresses core questions including: Who, or what, are the media? What are the key terms and concepts used in analysing media? Where have new media technologies had the biggest impact? How, and by whom, is media made in the 21st century? Featuring new case studies, an updated glossary and suggestions for further reading, this is the ideal introduction to Media Studies today for both A Level and undergraduate students.

This book provides a critical commentary on key issues around learning in the digital age in both formal and informal educational settings. The book presents research and thinking about new dynamic literacies, porous expertise, digital making/coding/remixing, curation, storying in digital media, open learning, the networked educator and a number of related topics; it further addresses and develops the notion of a 'third space literacies' in contexts for learning. The book takes as its starting point the idea that an emphasis on technology and media, as part of material culture and lived experience, is much needed in the discussion of education, along with a criticality which is too often absent in the discourse around technology and learning. It constructs a narrative thread and a critical synthesis from a sociocultural account of the memes and stereotypical positions around learning, media and technology in the digital age, and will be of great interest to academics interested in the mechanics of learning and the effects of technology on the education experience. It closes with a conversation as a reflexive 'afterword' featuring discussion of the key issues with, amongst others, Neil Selwyn and Cathy Burnett.

Doing Theory on Education explores key debates using examples from contemporary media and popular culture to guide Education Studies students through the perennial debates that surround teaching and learning. Aimed at undergraduates, postgraduates and teachers in education settings, it uses over seventy popular culture texts from television, music, videogames, fiction, film, architecture, social media, the press and art to illuminate important issues and make the critical theory that underpins educational debates more accessible and engaging. Each chapter also offers essential background knowledge and historical perspective and includes reflective activities to help you develop a critical approach, enabling you to argue your own point of view with confidence and consider where issues may progress to in the future. It examines core issues such as: Class and educational choice Learning styles Testing and assessment What counts as knowledge Leadership and professionalism Education students and those in education settings often struggle to see the value of theory. Doing Theory on Education: Using Popular Culture to Explore Key Debates is an accessible text designed for educationalists who want to put theory to work as an active strategy for influencing thinking and practice.

At the forefront in its field, this Handbook examines the theoretical, conceptual, pedagogical and methodological development of media literacy education and research around the world. Building on traditional media literacy frameworks in critical analysis, evaluation, and assessment, it incorporates new literacies emerging around connective technologies, mobile platforms, and social networks. A global perspective rather than a Western-centric point of view is explicitly highlighted, with contributors from all continents, to show the empirical research being done at the intersection of media, education, and engagement in daily life. Structured around five themes-Educational Interventions; Safeguarding/Data and Online Privacy; Engagement in Civic Life; Media, Creativity and Production; Digital Media Literacy-the volume as a whole emphasizes the competencies needed to engage in meaningful participation in digital culture.

"Studying Videogames" is the first book to look at videogames as media texts. Written specifically for advanced level/undergraduate students it covers a broad range of games, industry contexts, and research findings. The book challenges conventional media-analysis approaches; sets out the history, present, and future of games; and interrogates claims about their "social effects." Featuring student activities, interviews with key players in the industry, and an extended case study of the Grand Theft Auto cycle, "Studying Videogames" seriously engages with this powerful media.

The Palgrave Handbook of Media Misinformation provides a comprehensive and cutting-edge resource on the critical debates surrounding fake news and misinformation online. Spanning all continents and linking academic, journalistic, and educational communities, this collection offers authoritative coverage of conspiracy theories, the post-Trump and Brexit landscape, and the role of big tech in threats to democracy and free speech. The collection moves through a diagnosis of misinformation and its impacts on democracy and civic societies, the 'mainstreaming' of conspiracy theory, the impacts of misinformation on health and science, and the increasing significance of data visualization. Following these diagnoses, the handbook moves to responses from two communities of practice - the world of journalism and the field of media literacy.

Doing Theory on Education explores key debates using examples from contemporary media and popular culture to guide Education Studies students through the perennial debates that surround teaching and learning. Aimed at undergraduates, postgraduates and teachers in education settings, it uses over seventy popular culture texts from television, music, videogames, fiction, film, architecture, social media, the press and art to illuminate important issues and make the critical theory that underpins educational debates more accessible and engaging. Each chapter also offers essential background knowledge and historical perspective and includes reflective activities to help you develop a critical approach, enabling you to argue your own point of view with confidence and consider where issues may progress to in the future. It examines core issues such as: Class and educational choice Learning styles Testing and assessment What counts as knowledge Leadership and professionalism Education students and those in education settings often struggle to see the value of theory. Doing Theory on Education: Using Popular Culture to Explore Key Debates is an accessible text designed for educationalists who want to put theory to work as an active strategy for influencing thinking and practice.

This book explores the place of Media Studies in the age of 'fake news', analysing the calls for a curriculum of critical news literacy as part of a cyclical policy debate. With the need for young people in democracies to understand mainstream news agendas and take a critical perspective on social media news, including so-called 'fake news', this book argues for Media Studies as a mandatory subject. However, 'fake news' is not presented in the book as a stable, neutral term with a clear definition, but is instead defined as an idea that risks obscuring the key critical and political premise of Media Studies. All media representation requires critical deconstruction: therefore, any distinction between 'real' and 'fake' media is a false binary. The author draws together two narrative strands: one analysing contemporary news and journalism, featuring interviews with journalists and news commentators, and the other re-appraising the discipline of Media Studies itself. This bold and innovative book will appeal to all those interested in the nebulous and often confusing media landscape, as well as students and practitioners of Media Studies.

Online learning has become an increasing presence in higher education course design, with most courses combining physical real time engagement with asynchronous learning activity. Now, however, there is a greater need for this one-stop guide to critical practice in this area, as we rethink the role of digital in the social practices of university learning and teaching. This book provides a critical and contemporary 'deep dive' into the socio-material, technological and pedagogical practices at work in virtual and digital higher education. Examples are drawn from across and between disciplinary pedagogies with a focus on blended and hybrid approaches and the pivot to fully online made urgent by Covid-19 but drawing on existing best practice. The Critical Practice in Higher Education series provides a scholarly and practical entry point for academics into key areas of higher education practice. Each book in the series explores an individual topic in depth, providing an overview in relation to current thinking and practice, informed by recent research. The series will be of interest to those engaged in the study of higher education, those involved in leading learning and teaching or working in academic development, and individuals seeking to explore particular topics of professional interest. Through critical engagement, this series aims to promote an expanded notion of being an academic - connecting research, teaching, scholarship, community engagement and leadership - while developing confidence and authority.

This book provides a critical commentary on key issues around learning in the digital age in both formal and informal educational settings. The book presents research and thinking about new dynamic literacies, porous expertise, digital making/coding/remixing, curation, storying in digital media, open learning, the networked educator and a number of related topics; it further addresses and develops the notion of a `third space literacies' in contexts for learning. The book takes as its starting point the idea that an emphasis on technology and media, as part of material culture and lived experience, is much needed in the discussion of education, along with a criticality which is too often absent in the discourse around technology and learning. It constructs a narrative thread and a critical synthesis from a sociocultural account of the memes and stereotypical positions around learning, media and technology in the digital age, and will be of great interest to academics interested in the mechanics of learning and the effects of technology on the education experience. It closes with a conversation as a reflexive `afterword' featuring discussion of the key issues with, amongst others, Neil Selwyn and Cathy Burnett.