Institutes, Museums, Research Groups and More!
Association for Media Literacy, AML. Canadian nonprofit organization, since 1978, of professionals, parents, and media members who develop a critical understanding of the nature of media, their techniques, and their impact.
Australian Media Literacy Alliance, AMLA, c/o ALIA House, 9-11 Napier Close, Deakin, ACT 2600 info@medialiteracy.org.au
Center for Media and Social Impact, CMSI. Research center and lab that creates, studies and showcases media for social impact; at the School of Communication of American University.
Common Sense. US nonprofit organization providing lesson plans, research and articles about media.
Critical Media Project. CMP (University of Southern California). Free media literacy web resources for educators and students with many video clips from popular media about age, class, disability, gender, LGBTQ, race & ethnicity, and religion.
International Council for Media Literacy, IC4ML. Bridges scholarship with action through The Journal of Media Literacy; formerly known as the National Telemedia Council.
Mass Media Literacy. Massachusetts website with resources to teach critical media literacy.
Media Education Foundation, MEF. Produces and distributes documentary films and other educational resources to inspire critical thinking about the social, political, and cultural impact of American mass media. In Resources, see downloadable Discussion Guides, Lessons & Ideas, full transcripts of each film, and more.
Media Education Lab (University of Rhode Island). Resources, lesson plans, and events that bolster interdisciplinary approaches to research and practice relating to communication, media studies, and education.
MediaSmarts, Canada's Centre for Digital and Media Literacy. Developer of digital and media literacy programs and resources for Canadian homes, schools and communities since 1996; formerly known as Media Awareness Network.
National Association for Media Literacy Education, NAMLE. Largest nonprofit membership organization dedicated to advancing media literacy education in US.
Project Look Sharp (Ithaca College). Offers free teaching units, lesson plans, and resources for teaching media literacy.
UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry, C2i2 (University of California, Los Angeles). Center for interdisciplinary, intersectional research. Committed to reimagining technology; championing social, racial, and economic justice; and, strengthening democracy with culture-making and public policy work.
Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education (American University School of Communication, Center for Social Media)
US Center for Media Literacy, US based website with resources and archive of articles and lessons for teaching media literacy.
Research Guide Attribution
Dr. Jeff Share teaches critical media literacy to undergraduate and teacher education students. To learn more about Dr. Share, click here or contact him via email (jshare@ucla.edu).
Dr. Andrea Gambino earned her Ph.D. in Education from UCLA. Her research focuses on K-16 teachers' journeys to and practices of critical media literacy. Connect with her via email (algambin@g.ucla.edu).
Fran Marineo provides research assistance in Education at UCLA, including CML. Please contact Fran Marineo, UCLA Liaison to Education, via email (marineo@library.ucla.edu).
Accessing UCLA Subscription Sources
From Off-Campus
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eBooks
The Critical Media Literacy Guide: Engaging Media and Transforming Education, by ISBN: 9789004404533Date: 2019Online book, from Brill.
Theoretical framework and practical applications for educators and teacher education programs to transform education by putting critical media literacy into action in classrooms with students from kindergarten to university.
Source: Media Edge.
Defining Critical Media Literacy
The goal of critical media literacy is to engage with media through critically examining representations, systems, structures, ideologies, and power dynamics that shape and reproduce culture and society. It is an inquiry-based process for analyzing and creating media by interrogating the relationships between power and knowledge. Critical media literacy is a dialogical process for social and environmental justice that incorporates Paulo Freire's (1970) notion of praxis, "reflection and action upon the world in order to transform it" (p. 36). This pedagogical project questions representations of class, gender, race, sexuality and other forms of identity and challenges media messages that reproduce oppression and discrimination. It celebrates positive representations and beneficial aspects of media while challenging problems and negative consequences, recognizing media are never neutral. Critical media literacy is a transformative pedagogy for developing and empowering critical, caring, nurturing, and conscientious people.
This definition was written collaboratively by the steering committee of the Critical Media Literacy Conference of the Americas, 2021. Members of the steering committee include: Neil Andersen, Allison Butler, Renee Childs, Andrea Gambino, Noah Golden, Nolan Higdon, Michael Hoechsmann, Amina Humphrey, Raúl Alberto Mora, Reina Robinson, Jeff Share, James P. Stancil II, Alison Trope, Alicia Olguín, Yolanda Gayol, Mary Grueser.
Critical Media Literacy Framework © 2019 by Douglas Kellner and Jeff Share is licensed under CC BY 4.0 
Available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, and Mandarin
Publications of All Kinds
- Building Social Justice Starting in the Classroom(Teaching for Change)
- By Any Media Necessary: Mapping Youth & Participatory Politics(Henry Jenkins, Sangita Shresthova, Liana Gamber-Thompson, Neta Kligler-Vilenchik, Arely Zimmerman, NYU Press, 2016)
- Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood(Commercial Free Childhood)
- Civic Media Project.Case studies around the world.
- Educational Video Center in New YorkOver 30 years guiding youth to make socially conscious documentaries.
- Evaluating Information: The Cornerstone of Civic Online Reasoning(Sam Wineburg, Sarah McGrew, Joel Breakstone, & Teresa Ortega, Stanford Digital Repository, 2016)
- How Civic Engagement Helps Students See Their Capacity to Make Change(Mindshift, KQED, Oct 17, 2016)
- Lesson Plan on Storytelling(StoryCorps)
- Media and Information Literacy curriculumUNESCO (2011) Curriculum for teaching teachers media literacy.
- Media Inequality & Change Center (MIC)(Univ. of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School & Rutgers Univ. School of Communication and Information). Explores the intersections between media, democracy, technology, policy, and social justice.
- Media Literacy Clearinghouse(Frank Baker)
- Media Literacy for Citizenship(European Association for Viewers Interests, Brussels [EAVI]).
- Media Literacy Lesson Plans(Teaching Tolerance)
- Media Literacy Resources(California Department of Education)
- PBS: Media Literacy for KidsTeaching children to learn about media literacy.
- Pedagogies of Media & Information LiteraciesUNESCO (2012)
- Center for Communication & Civic EngagementCulture Jamming and Meme-Based Communication
- Teaching A People's History(Zinn Education Project)
Library Catalogs
UC Library Search
Catalog of library items, online and in print, in all 10 UC Libraries.
After search, select: Online at UCLA
EXAMPLE SEARCHES
Subject
Critical pedagogy
Educational technology
Fake news — United States
Information literacy
Internet and youth
Internet in education — Social aspects
Mass media — Study and teaching
Mass media and education
Mass media and youth
Mass media criticism
Mass media in education
Media literacy
Media literacy — Political aspects — United States
Media literacy — Study and teaching
Minorities in mass media
Popular culture — Study and teaching
Racism in mass media
Social media
Visual literacy —Study and teaching
Keywords
critical media
Catalog of books. periodicals, recordings, and other items held in libraries worldwide. Current students and faculty of UCLA may use the Interlibrary Loan Service at the UCLA Library to request sources found in WorldCAT libraries (or any non-UCLA Library). Subject headings above may be used when searching WorldCAT.
Learn more about the Critical Media Literacy Conference of the Americas 2023 (Oct. 27-29).
Selected Journals and Magazines
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Book Series: Routledge Research in Media Literacy and Education (Series Editors: Pete Bennett and Julian McDougall)
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Comunicar: Media Education Research Journal.
Quarterly international media education research journal, available in Spanish and English, with archives dating back to 1993. -
The Journal of Media Literacy (JML).
Began as Better Broadcasts News in 1953, evolved into Telemedium, and then into The Journal of Media Literacy in the 1980s, when the organization changed from the National Telemedia Council and now to the International Council for Media Literacy. -
Journal of Media Literacy Education.
Peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary journal supporting media literacy education research, scholarship and pedagogy; open access, 2009-present, 3x/yr. Official journal of the National Association for Media Literacy Education. -
Research in the Teaching of English (RTE) Annual Annotated Bibliographies (National Council of Teachers of English).
Since 2003, the RTE has published annotated bibliographies of the most current research on Media Literacy and other aspects of literacy.
Collections: Blogs, Courses, Lessons, Podcasts, Reports, Videos
Global Citizenship Education (GCED) online campus (UNESCO - APCEIU):
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Critical Media Literacy:
Free 3-week self-paced course of theoretical and practical understandings of media, information literacy and ethical issues/actions with media to promote global citizenship. -
Global Citizenship Education Online:
E-learning platform with free online courses, lessons, and resources to support educators interested in global citizenship education. -
Teaching Media Information Literacy (MIL) in Class to Prevent Hate Speech:
Free professional development course for teachers interested in using MIL with students to deconstruct and challenge stereotypes and prejudice reproduced in the news, social media, and the Internet.
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25 Introductory Media Literacy Lessons (2007). The Center for Media Literacy.
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Action Coalition for Media Education and Project Censored. The Global Critical Media Literacy Educators' Resource Guide.
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Association for Media Literacy: Lessons & Ideas. Free lessons and resources from media literacy experts in Canada. Check out these by Neil Andersen on Children's Picture Books and What is Your Emoji Name?
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Media and Information Literacy Curriculum for Teachers (UNESCO, 2011, available for free download in 11 languages)
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Media Literacy Resources (California Department of Education). Resources compiled by the California School Library Association and station KQED to fulfill Senate Bill 830 (2018).
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Project Look Sharp (Ithaca College). Free lessons and resources.
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Resources for Teaching Media Literacy (Frank W. Baker, Media Literacy Clearinghouse
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Soundbreaking (PBS, 2018) Digital Storytelling Through Sound: Lesson Plans include clips from the Soundbreaking series and media activities.
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Padlet Media Literacy Resources (assortment of lessons and resources by the media literacy community)
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Along the Line (The Media Freedom Foundation). Weekly podcast from Project Censored provides analyses on critical issues and current topics.
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CodeSw!tch (NPR). Podcast series challenging the notion of a post-racial society through the lenses of human experiences at the cross-section of race, ethnicity, and culture.
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Counterspin. FAIR's weekly radio show by Janine Jackson provides a critical analysis of news stories and mainstream media.
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Mediacy: voiceED Radio Canada. Neil Andersen and Carol Arcus (Association for Media Literacy) analyze culture and current events from a media literacy perspective.
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On the Media (WNYC Studios). Weekly investigative podcast with Brooke Gladstone and Bob Garfield discussing how the media influences our world views.
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Reveal. First investigative public radio show and podcast in the USA. Al Letson discusses a range of topics to challenge contemporary social issues.
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Your Undivided Attention (co-hosts Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin discuss the power of technology)
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Commission on Information Disorder Interim Report (Aspen Institute, July 13, 2021)
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Digital Nation Australia, 2021 (Good Things Foundation, Australia)
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Equity and Impact in Media Literacy Practice: Mapping the Field in the United States (A report for NAMLE, 2021)
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Evaluating Information: The Cornerstone of Civic Online Reasoning. (2016, Stanford University, Stanford History Education Group)
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ITU 2020 Youth Engagement Survey - Data & Interpretation, website & Google slide presentation (International Telecommunication Union, specialized agency of the United Nations)
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Lyiscott, J., Mirra, N., & Garcia, A. (2021). Critical Media Literacy and Popular Culture in ELA Classrooms. James R. Squire Office of the National Council of Teachers of English.
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Resolution on English Education for Critical Media Literacy in Politics and Media (2019). National Council of Teachers of English.
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Snapshot 2019: The State of Media Literacy Education in the U.S. National Association for Media Literacy Education.
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U.S. Media Literacy Policy Report 2020. State-by-state survey of the status of media literacy education laws for K-12 schools. Media Literacy Now.
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Media Education in English Language Arts (National Council of Teachers of English, April 12, 2022)
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Center for Scholars and Storytellers Research Reports on media representations (Centered on adolescents to bridge the gap between academia and media makers, Director Yalda Uhls)
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NCTE Report of the Task Force on Critical Media Literacy (National Council of Teachers of Education, 2021)
LAUSD Webinars about critical media literacy with students and teachers (May 2021) Student Panel & Teacher Panel.
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Civic Media Literacy (short videos from Civic Engagement Research Group, UC Riverside)
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The Critical Media Literacy Conference of the Americas 2021, videos of the presentations and keynotes. Learn more about CMLCA, here.
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The Critical Media Literacy Conference of the Americas 2020, videos of the presentations and keynote.
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Democracy Demands Media Literacy (Brian Stelter, CNN, 4:46 mins.)
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Frontline PBS Videos on Media Literacy. Collection of videos and sources for teachers on media literacy.
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Media Literacy (BrainPop, Aug 24, 2017, 6:05 mins.)
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Media Literacy Part 1 (Feminist Frequency, Dec 11, 2018, 9:04 mins.)
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Media Literacy Part 2 (Feminist Frequency, Dec 20, 2018, 10:36 mins.)
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Media Smarts: Kids Learn How to Navigate the Multimedia World (July 13, 2005, Edutopia, 7:36 mins.)
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Education 4 Liberation (History Class with Michael)
Key Databases with Films, Articles, News
Online Videos, Documentaries, Films
- Kanopy This link opens in a new window
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On-demand streaming video service for educational institutions with thousands of documentaries, training films and theatrical releases across diverse subjects and disciplines. More information on Kanopy access and use is available on this guide.
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Internet Archive, aka The Wayback Machine. Non-profit library of millions of free archived books, movies, software, music, websites, and more.
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Streaming Video Collections: Internet and Open Access. Video collections open to all (via non-subscription sources).
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Streaming Video Databases: Narrative, Documentary, and Performance. UCLA Library subscription video databases.
Articles and eBook Databases
- Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
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Leading multidisciplinary, academic database with over 10,000 publications, including peer-reviewed journals, magazines, and newspapers. - JSTOR This link opens in a new window
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Core scholarly journals from their beginning to 3-5 years ago. Includes gender studies, film studies, and cultural studies titles, browsable by discipline and full-text searchable. UCLA access is to select JSTOR sources: Select Content I Can Access. - Project MUSE This link opens in a new window
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Scholarly publications by university presses, chiefly in the arts, humanities and social sciences; journals, from 1990-present; ebooks from 2017-present. Choose Search, then limit Access = Only Content I Have Access To. - ProQuest E-book Central This link opens in a new window
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UCLA selective license to individual book titles, in a wide variety of subject areas. - Taylor & Francis Online This link opens in a new window
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Access academic journals from Taylor & Francis, Routledge, and Psychology Press. Please limit your search and filter by Access Type to “Only show content I have full access to.”
Gender Studies Databases
- GenderWatch This link opens in a new window
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Publications that focus on the impact of gender across multiple subject areas, including scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, regional publications, books, and more. - LGBTQ+ Life This link opens in a new window
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LGBTQ-specific core periodicals, core books and reference works. In addition, other source-types such as grey literature, including newsletters, case studies, speeches, etc. are represented. - Women's Studies International This link opens in a new window
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Provides access to citations for a wide range of topics in the study of women and gender, 1972-present.
Independent Newspapers
- Alternative Press Index This link opens in a new window
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International and interdisciplinary sources of alternative, radical, and left periodicals, newspapers, and magazines, spanning the social sciences and humanities. Central focus is on the practice and theory of socialism, national liberation, labor, indigenous peoples, gays/lesbians, feminism, ecology, democracy, and anarchism; 1969-present. - American Indian Newspapers This link opens in a new window
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Digitized collection of print journalism from indigenous peoples of the USA and Canada, from 1828-2016. Forty-five unique titles also include bilingual and Indigenous-language editions, such as Hawaiian, Cherokee and Navajo languages. - Ethnic NewsWatch This link opens in a new window
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Publications of the ethnic, minority, and native press covering news, culture, and history, 1959-present; searchable in English or Spanish. - Independent Voices This link opens in a new windowOpen source, alternative publications from the 1960s-1980s covering feminists, dissident GIs, campus radicals, Native Americans, anti-war activists, Black Power advocates, Latinos, gays, lesbians and more.
Corporate Newspapers
- NewsBank This link opens in a new window
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News coverage of 1,500+ sources worldwide, including 650 in the U.S. (130 or more are California newspapers, some not in either Factiva or Nexis Uni). - U.S. Major Dailies This link opens in a new window
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Full-text coverage for U.S. major newspapers, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and the Wall Street Journal, 1980s-present.