Media Madness: The Impact of Sex, Violence, and Commercial Culture on Adults, Children and Society

A Summer Institute for Educators, Parents, Human Service Professionals, and Community Activists

3 graduate credits. May also be audited for no credit.

Dates: July 8-10, 2008: 9:00a.m. to 5:00p.m. & Optional Sections 7:00p.m. to 9:00p.m.
July 11, 2008: 9:00a.m. to 3:00p.m.
Instructors: Diane Levin and Gail Dines

For the 14th consecutive year, Wheelock College is offering the very popular summer institute on the role that the media (television, movies, magazines, video games, advertising and pornography) plays in shaping children’s development and behavior, as well as our overall cultural attitudes. The institute will be held on Wheelock’s Boston Campus.
By focusing on the onslaught of violent, sexist and commercial images that bombard us daily, participants will: understand harm caused by this onslaught; build skills to educate and support children, youth and adults to resist the dangers; and integrate broad-based media literacy curricula and activism into classrooms and everyday life.

Who Should Attend

Human service providers, educators, anti-violence activists, parents, media educators, producers, and graduate and undergraduate students. 

Why Now

Media touches almost all aspects of our lives, and shapes the way we think about our culture, our world and ourselves.   Children spend more time in front of a TV screen than in school.  By age 18, they have witnessed more than 100,000 violent acts and more than 300,000 commercials.  The majority of children’s toys are linked to TV programs and movies, many of which are violent as is the clothing they wear and food they eat. 
Emotional immaturity, narrow media-linked play, violent and sexualized behavior, childhood obesity, rampant consumerism, difficulty communicating, and poor literacy, math and science skills have all been associated with media consumption.  
Banning media from our lives is rarely a viable solution. Children and adults must become more critical consumers of media to combat the harmful culture created by the media.

Learn How

• Media violence effects behavior and contributes to violence in society;
• Media influences children’s ideas about sexual behavior and relationships with others;
• Media affects children’s cognitive and emotional development;
• Media messages perpetrate and legitimize sexism, racism, classism, and homophobia;
• To analyze a wide range of media, including movies, cartoons, sitcoms, MTV and advertisements for important messages about race, gender, class and violence;
• Political and economic forces shape and control the media;
• Strategies and resources for combating the hazards of media culture with children using: age-appropriate approaches to media literacy, violence prevention, and conflict resolution;
• To become active in advocacy, community building and influencing policy around media issues.

For More Information

Please contact: Liz Garret at 617-879-2389 or egarrett@wheelock.edu, Gail Dines at gdines@wheelock.edu, or Diane Levin at dlevin@wheelock.edu.