Media Literacy and American Education: An Exploration with Détournement

Many competing voices are speaking about the state of American education and how it should be reformed in the best interest of students. Topics such as teachers unions, charter schools, and standardized tests are at the center of many of these discussions. How do we decipher what to believe amid such conflicting perspectives concerning these topics and others like them? To progress American education in a direction that benefits students and democratic society, today’s educational stakeholders must adopt a critical stance in their evaluation of issues at the center of American education; lessons that encourage the development of critical media literacy skills are vital to this effort. This article explains how using détournement in the classroom contributes to this goal, providing a historical background of détournement, exploring a détournement created by the authors, and sharing practical applications for teachers. Practical considerations are drawn from the authors’ experiences implementing détournement in the context of a master’s level Disciplinary Literacies course for preservice teachers. The détournement creation process in this context provided an opportunity for preservice teachers to cultivate skills in digital video composition as both critical media consumers and critical media producers. Resources and practical applications shared within the article can guide teachers in implementing détournement in the classroom to help students adopt a critical stance toward the media they regularly consume