Media Literacy for Political Cognition in Higher Education

Abstract

Civic education has long been a goal of liberal education, and many institutions are renewing their commitment to meaningful civic engagement as both a philosophical and educational goal of higher education. Civic engagement and media literacy are essential to fostering democracy. This chapter outlines the shared ideological and pedagogical approaches to civic and political engagement and its connection to media literacy education. The 2016 election cycle has presented a number of challenges for civic engagement and media literacy educators. Many of the core values and beliefs related to critical thinking and information literacy have been challenged.