Making visible the invisible: Exploring McLuhan’s figure/ground in digital citizenship education
Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: Figure and ground are analytical concepts used to discuss how some elements of a lived situation dominate perception, while others remain in the background. This applies not least to media and research from the medium theoretical tradition as well as later scholarship on media infrastructures, which have been keen to explore the taken for granted or invisible aspects of the media landscape. In media education, however, there is still a tendency to focus on thefigureof digital media by treating media technologies as tools or to focus on the critical evaluation of media content. This article draws on McLuhan’s co-authored textbookCity as Classroomto suggest a pedagogical turn towards thegroundof the internet. Based on concrete examples from middle school digital citizenship education, the article shows how a focus on the ground of digitalization actualizes topics such as environmental concerns, global inequalities and data privacy. These topics are conceptualized and discussed through the environmental/spatial metaphorsclouds, exhaustandarchitecture.
Source: Explorations in Media Ecology
DOI: 10.1386/eme_00110_1
Authors: Ingrid Forsler, Michelle Ciccone
Institutions: Södertörn University, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Language: English
Subfield: Literature and Literary Theory
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4200136940