ASU panelists will explore visual and media literacies at PKP Symposium

Visual and Media Literacies will be the focus of the monthly Phi Kappa Phi Symposium on Thursday, Feb. 2, from 1-2:30 p.m. in 170 University Hall.

The forum addresses the importance of visual and media literacy. Panelists for the forum include Debra van Tuyll, associate professor of communications; Kristin Casaletto, associate professor of art; Rick Pukis, assistant professor of communications; and Janice Williams Whiting, professor of art. Beth Fanning, professor emerita of English, will moderate the panel.

In today’s society, the speed at which we process visual images has changed over the years, particularly in young adults, says Dr. van Tuyll. The MTV phenomenon helped, with its fast-paced images and wild colors. And with teenage magazines, the frenetic design and color schemes also changed the way we process images, she adds. Studies have shown that older adults who had viewed MTV became stressed, while the younger audience had developed the visual literacy skills to input the information and images at a fast speed.

“And with media literacy, you need to be able to understand what media messages are really saying,” says Dr. van Tuyll. “Many of my students tell me that the news media is biased. I have one student who thinks that Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly are biased, when in actuality their shows are editorial-based, meaning they are giving their opinions. What are the conventions of the two?” she asks.

Editorial media is supposed to be opinion-based, while news media is supposed to be fact-based, Dr. van Tuyll goes on to say. “But if my students are thinking this way, then the general public is probably thinking in the same way.”

The topic is part of a year-long series, Arsenal of Literacies Speaker Series: Reading the World, which explores various literacies that identify a culturally-literate individual.

For more information on the free forum, contact the Office of Public Relations and Publications at 737-1444.

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