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This manual is based on what was learned during the course given in the context of the project of Pet-Med which was funded by Veneto Region. During the first semester of the 2010-2011 school year, the course was given at Al-Quds University at the Modern Media Center.
This course is a critical journey into the existing media coverage and involves a search for structures that can provide a realistic picture, as far as possible, and understanding of the complexity of today’s media. The course comprises the principles of critical media consumption, assessing how the media functions, proposals involving supplementary and alternative approaches to the existing media approaches and the analysis of test cases, using examples from actual media coverage in Palestine. In the last part of the course, the students are asked to apply the material they learned and to point out bias in media coverage. They are required to propose alternatives and supplements to the texts and formulations, the design of messages and editing of material. The course combines lectures, presentations of visual materials, analysis of case studies, exercises and hands-on experience in creating media texts and messages. The course is accompanied by theoretical and research sources, examples from actual media coverage (the materials themselves, or references) and presentations prepared in accordance with the study units. The examples and materials presented in this manual are typical of the period in which the course was given in the context of the project. It follows that they refer to that time frame (and in some cases to the place too). That is why users of this manual are advised to choose appropriate and up-to-date media examples and materials suited to the period when the manual is used. Because of difficulties in obtaining publishing rights, the editors of this manual refrained in certain cases from providing the materials themselves, and gave the relevant reference or link instead.
This course was based on the principles of critical media literacy, which include experiencing the critical study of media content and messages, drafting well-reasoned arguments, presenting open questions and challenging the claims and perspectives of media personalities, writers, editors and the authors of media texts, and a reflective assessment of the students’ personal positions and beliefs (Hobbs, 20111 , 20012 , 19983 ). This approach is grounded in critical theories that aim to develop critical thinking and an in-depth understanding of how the media work and what the considerations are that guide those steering the media in shaping and structuring reality, and in this case, the reality of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In the spirit of this approach, the study units are based on activities that involve analysis and critical assessment related to events and subjects presented in the media, by means of an open and critical dialogue between lecturers and students, in addition to hands-on experience on the part of the students in producing texts carrying alternative messages through the active use of media technologies. The basic principle calls for learning through experience, which places the students in the role of the authors of messages - using both traditional and digital media - and thereby giving them the opportunity to make an informed assessment of the implications that the media have for society and for them as an audience. In the broader sense, these activities will hopefully encourage them to take an active role in media consumption, as thinking people in a society brimming with information and technology. They will be equipped with knowledge and media skills that enable them to respond to the media reality and express their critical positions as they impact the media and ensure the quality of the information stream in a democratic society in the age of the Internet and social networks. The use of media technologies is friendly and creates diverse possibilities for personal and creative expression in various and sundry formats such as the production of a YouTube clip, blogging, forums, social networks, etc., all of which can broaden their media literacy and understanding, and empower them as active and involved citizens.