Critical Intersections: Collaboration in Media and Information Literacy

Critical information literacy (CIL) and critical media literacy (CML) are sub-areas within the broader fields of information literacy and media literacy. The latter two are typically (though not exclusively) located within the disciplines of library and information science (LIS) and communications respectively. Earlier this decade Marcus Leaning observed, “ . . . the experience of being a user of information resources and a consumer of media is so similar that the two cannot be separated”. Leaning goes further by characterizing disciplinary silos as “pedagogically wasteful”.1 Following his lead, we strongly advocate that the critical wings of both information literacy and media literacy have much in common and should be allied. With its focus on knowledge, power and justice, critical pedagogy serves as the bridge between CIL and CML. And although the critical component is a more recent feature of information literacy than media literacy, it now occupies an important place in both areas. We will provide a rationale for combining CIL and CML, provide a model for its implementation (via examples from our own media and information literacy course), critically evaluate next steps for our work including removing the silos between both areas and examine the critical pedagogies that fuel our cross disciplinary collaboration