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[Mesoj]

Media literacy is a vital element of education.  Students must be taught how to effectively locate, critically evaluate, and productively utilize knowledge in all subject areas, whether it's in MySpace, Fox News, or a library book.

[hardasdolomite]

Wouldn't it be nice if there could be a companion course: "Academic Literacy"? Such a course might explore the ways in which the Academy omits, obfuscates, cleans up and otherwise spins what it has to say - a course in what's unlikely to be said (however well known) now; together with a historical perspective listing all that couldn't be said (but is in many cases Gospel now) twenty years ago and forty years ago.

I remember when the idea that alcoholism (or nearly anything else) could involve genetic factors was literally unspeakable in academic departments, to cite one very small example.

But a critical course that touched on political correctness wouldn't be very politically correct, now would it? So I guess that's out...

[daurousseau]

Media literacy is a vital element of education.  Students must be taught how to effectively locate, critically evaluate, and productively utilize knowledge in all subject areas, whether it's in MySpace, Fox News, or a library book.

They were never taught that in the past. Why start now?

(Take a look at the treatment of wars in all media around this time of year. How many of the professoriate even recognize that wars are a con job having nothing to do with defending our this that and the other?)