MEDIA AND INFORMATION LITERACY

Developing Societal & Cultural Awareness

National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission of
Thailand Seminar on Media / Information Literacy in Digital
Era. Bkk Nov. 2015

Prof. Dr. Thomas A. Bauer

Vienna / Austria

thomas.bauer@univie.ac.at

O. Univ.
University of

Personal Life in Media Society

Classical Media Environment

Cultural context of
living

Social context of
living

Social Media
Environment
A media-referred system of organizing indiviual and social
life
Society in the modus of media: Identity factors Presence
thomas.bauer@univie.ac.at
and
Attention

Media Chance Mirroring Social Change

Distribution Programme One to Many

Social context of
living

Cultural context of
living

Network Many to Many

Media Change / Social Change / Cultural Change:

New Chances and Challenges of Individual and Social
Identity
thomas.bauer@univie.ac.at

Social Life in Context of Media Change

Organized / Socialized Relationship

Cultural environment

Societal
environment

Intuitive / Social
Relationship
Increasing Digitalisation:
More Options of Anything Any Time at Any Place with Any
Interest
thomas.bauer@univie.ac.at

Social Modes of Symbolic Interaction

Vertical / Hierachy Typus

Cultural environment

Societal
environment

Horizontal / Heterarchy
Typus
Social Use of Media :
New Models of Social Relation: Private Goes Public /
Eventization of the Moment / Network-Participation
thomas.bauer@univie.ac.at

Media-contextualized Concept of Sociability

societ
y
culture

organisati
on
communication

A media-referred system of auto-constitution of

communication, society, culture and social organization:
One cannot function without others: Mediality
thomas.bauer@univie.ac.at

WHAT IS A MEDIA?
HIGH

CULTURAL

MEDIALITY: THE SOCIAL AGREEMENT

ON MEDIA-REFERRED SOCIAL PRACTICE
MEDIA SYSTEM:
SYMBOLICALLY MEDIATED INTERACTION
MEDIA ENVIRONMENT

GRADE
of
Complexity

MEDIA SYSTEM

/ MEDIA ORGANISATION

THE MEDIA :TECHNICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

THE MEDIUM: APPARATIVE DEVICE
LOW

STRUCTURAL

)
thomas.bauer@univie.ac.at

*
What and Why Literacy?

Literacy: An Educational Concept of social and cultural use of

language for social communication / participation / inclusion
Managing the Complexity of Media Language: Media Code,
(audiovisual design grammar) on technical / social / political /
cultural / ethical level
Media Literacy: Understanding the Meaning of Use of Media
for individual / social / societal / moral interpretation of
communication and interaction options
Overall Literacy: An anthropological / sociological / sociopolitical concept in the interest if: Competence, Sovereignty,
Autonomy, Social and Symbolic Capital

thomas.bauer@univie.ac.at

MEDIA LITERACY ARCHITECTURE

DOING THE MEDIA
HIGH

ACTIVE / EMANCIPATION

DEGREE
of
PARTICIPATION

CRITIQUES

ANALYSIS
LOW

KNOWLEDGE
PASSIVE / COMPENSATION
thomas.bauer@univie.ac.at

MEDIA LITERACY THE CULTURAL TOOLCONCEPT

The didactic three-level competence development concept

Media Knowledge (Understand media - Education

Media Analysis (Penetrate media - Sovereignty
Media Critics (Be aware of media - Emancipation
Media Creation (Do the media - Active Participation

thomas.bauer@univie.ac.at

MEDIA LITERACY THE COMPETENCE CONCEPT

The Habitus Concept of Social Competence

(following P. Bourdieu Habitus, Social Capital, and
N. Chomsky Generative Grammar Concept):
Ability: (technical, analytical. critical, cultural (soft) skills
Capacity: cognitive capability understanding complexity:
Knowledge
Motivation : intrinsic interest in realizing the eventual,
social and cultural environment: creation motifs
Responsibility: the individual and the society are facing the
charge of quality and culture of societal communication

thomas.bauer@univie.ac.at

UNDERSTANDING COMPETENCE
wheredoestheimaginationcomefrom?

Competence
is not a natural quality, but is a category of the cultural interpretation of
human attitude in relation to the natural, cultural, social, technical and
symbolic environment. It says that mankind is able and capable to organize
its position in relation to the environment in a cultural manner - thus
forming personality and individuality in order to become an identifiable
part of it.
- cultural-anthropological interpretation
- psychological interpretation
- educational interpretation

thomas.bauer@univie.ac.at