Axinn Center 232
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Middlebury, VT 05753
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Open to the Public

Headshot of Ioana Literat

Whether we like it or not, social media platforms have become key spaces for youth political expression. Yet young people’s engagement with politics on social media looks and feels different from adult conceptions of political expression: it is creative, making inventive use of platform affordances; it is personal, shaped by young people’s experiences and identities; and it is meaningful to young people, as a space to exert their political voice. This talk, based on Dr. Literat’s new book, argues for the need to consider the potential value of social media, both as a space for young people to experiment with their political voice, and as a window into the political and social concerns on their minds. Grounded in empirical research on three case studies of online political expression, the book offers insights into the varied ways young people engage with political issues on the social media platforms most popular with youth audiences. At a time when democracy faces grave threats worldwide, understanding how young people develop and express their political voice online—and how we might support them in doing so—has never been more crucial.


BIO:
Ioana Literat is Associate Professor in the Communication, Media & Learning Technologies Design program at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she also co-directs the Media & Social Change Lab. Her research examines youth online participation, with a particular focus on the intersection of civic and creative practices in online contexts. Her work has been published in the Journal of Communication, New Media & Society, Communication Theory, and Information, Communication & Society, among others. She is a frequent contributor on youth and social media topics in the press, including in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Newsweek, The Atlantic, CNN and Wired. 

 

Sponsored by the Film and Media Culture Department and the Hirschfield Film Endowment.  Free.

Sponsored by:
Film & Media Culture

Contact Organizer

Berg, Sheerya
shberg@middlebury.edu
(802) 443-3190