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Abstract:
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This thesis is an exploratory study of media production classes in Austin , Texas . Through examination of Texas state standards , lesson plans , and interviews with educators , I construct a picture of the content and trajectories of media production education in Austin public high schools . The standards , teachers , production tools , and end products structure the classes toward vocational training , industrial practices , and discourses of digitality and newness . The structures avoid more traditional media study areas , such as history , criticism , and analysis . Despite some concerns about student’s vulnerability and desires to empower them , the teachers also largely avoid discourses of media literacy . This study lays a foundation for further exploration of the ways in which media production education structures students’ understanding of media , as well as for reflection on the necessity of more direct media education and media literacy intervention in young people’s highly productive and media -rich lives . |