Sisters, Cousins, Competitors or Friends?

Visual Competence and Media Literacy

Renee HobbsTemple UniversityPhiladelphia PAInternational Communication Association, Montreal, May 24, 2008

Multiple Approaches to Studying Visual CultureStudies of visual culture merge popular and "low" cultural forms of media and communication with the study of "high" cultural forms of fine art, design, and architecture.

JACOBS UNIVERSITY BREMEN Visual Competence Symposium July 6 - 8, 2007

Marion Muller, GERMANY

Steven Eisenman, US

Luc Pauwels, BELGIUM

Gunther Kress, UK

Daniel Glaser, UK

Kenneth Holmqvist, SWEDEN

Alan Kingstone, CANADA

Renee Hobbs, US

Ursula Frohne, GERMANY

Lucia Santaella Braga, BRAZIL

Theo van Leeuwen, AUSTRALIA

Leonardo Boccia, BRAZIL

Arvid Kappas, GERMANY

Matthias Bruhn, GERMANY

Winfried Nöth, GERMANY

Ed Tan, NETHERLANDS

Michael Griffin, US

…and others

Visual Competence

1. Perception

2. Decoding and interpretation

3. Production

4. Intra- and intercultural action

Informed by perspectives from art history, cognitive neuroscience, semiotics and communication

Competence is the acquisition of knowledge, skills and abilities at a level of expertise sufficient to be able to perform in an appropriate setting

Media Literacy

The ability to

1. Access

2. Analyze

3. Evaluate

4. Communicate

…in a wide variety of forms

Informed by perspectives from education, communication, cultural studies and youth development

Literacy involves a continuum of learning that enables an individual to achieve his or her goals, to develop knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in society.

Visual Competence

Media Literacy

Why a New Term?

Visual Competence

Media Literacy

Why a New Term?

Responding to the problematics of “literacy” Applying insights from perceptual and cognitive psychology

Emphasizing cultural specificity of message construction and interpretation

A term for academic scholars interested in interdisciplinary inquiry on processes of message production and reception

Widespread Stakeholder Interest in“New Literacies”

Information technology providersAcademic scholars in communication and media

studiesLibrary and information scienceK-12 education and school reformPublic healthFine and performing artsAfter school and informal learningAdvocacy and social changeWorkplace readiness and the creative economy

Visual Competence

ICT Literacy

Critical Literacy New Literacies

Information Literacy

Media Literacy

Visual Literacy

Multiple Models Proliferate

Visual CompetenceVisual Competence

PerceptionPerceptionDecoding/InterpretationDecoding/Interpretation

ProductionProductionIntra-intercultural actionIntra-intercultural action

Media LiteracyMedia Literacy

AccessAccessAnalyze/EvaluateAnalyze/Evaluate

CommunicateCommunicateAdvocateAdvocate

Sisters, Cousins, Competitors or Friends?

Characteristics of Visual Competence: Focus on Perceptual & Cognitive Issues

Alan Kingstone’s cognitive ethology approach to studying visual cognition

Eye tracking studies of people watching movies show a lot of consistency

Provides insight on the relationship between interpretation and production, since producers design messages that are designed to evoke shared meaning

Characteristics of Visual Competence: Focus on Cultural Specificity

Culture shapes both the processes of message construction and reception.

Characteristics of Media Literacy: Focus on Purpose

The purpose of media literacy education is to help individuals of all ages develop the habits of inquiry

and skills of expression that they need to be critical thinkers, effective communicators and

active citizens in today’s world.--Core Principles of Media Literacy Education, AMLA, St. Louis (2007)

DISTRIBUTION & PARTICIPATION:

A means of sharing

MEDIUM: The form of expression

and communication

TECHNOLOGIES: Resources that help you do or make

things

MEDIA LITERACY

PEDAGOGY: A way of learning and teaching

ACCESSANALYZE/EVALUATE

COMMUNICATE ADVOCATE

CONTENT: The messages that

matter

Characteristics of Media Literacy: Focus on Key Concepts

1) Understanding that all messages are constructions, created by authors for specific purposes

2) People use their individual skills, beliefs and experiences to construct meaning from messages

3) Different forms and genres of communication make use of specific codes, conventions and symbolic forms

4) Values and ideologies are conveyed in media messages in ways that represent certain world views

5) Media and media messages can shape people’s perceptions of social reality, thus influencing beliefs, attitudes, behaviors and the democratic process

6) Media messages, media industries and technologies of communication exist within a larger aesthetic, cultural, historical, political, economic and regulatory framework.

Characteristics of Media Literacy: Focus on Core Instructional Practices

Reflection on media & technology use

Inquiry-oriented critical analysis of multimedia texts, contexts, and cultures

Creative and collaborative media production for authentic purposes

Visual CompetenceVisual Competence

PerceptionPerceptionDecoding/InterpretationDecoding/Interpretation

ProductionProductionIntra-intercultural actionIntra-intercultural action

Media LiteracyMedia Literacy

AccessAnalyze/Evaluate

CommunicateAdvocate

Sisters, Cousins, Competitors or Friends?

EDUCATION

Issues to Consider

What is the purpose of “visual competence”?

What are the costs and benefits of interdisciplinary approaches to defining skills, knowledge and competencies in relation to message reception and production?

Many multimedia forms are not strictly “visual”Competence suggests a state of mastery, with

implied or explicit hierarchiesVisual competence is highly medium- and genre-

specificVisual competence is not explicitly linked to

metacognition, learning processes, or “habits of inquiry”

Analysis is situated within decoding/ interpretation, emphasizing meaning-making but risking the loss of a “critical” perspective

Visual Competence and Media Literacy:Sisters, Cousins, Competitors or Friends?

Renee HobbsProfessorMedia Education LabTemple UniversitySchool of Communications and TheaterPhiladelphia PA USAEmail : renee.hobbs@temple.edu