Zoom Reading As A Multi-Dimensional Media Literacy: A Qualitative Media Study With Youth in Rural Ontario

In this dissertation, I develop and study an original approach to media education I call “Zoom Reading”. This approach offers a critique of, and supplement to, the current Ontario media literacy curriculum by suggesting that media should be given the same rich attention as literature. Drawing on my background in communications and cultural studies, I argue for an approach to media education that includes an attention to form and content, personal experience and social life. After conducting a qualitative study with students in rural Ontario to experiment with Zoom Reading, this project explores the ways that the (rural) location and age of the participating students informs their engagement with popular media. I also consider the unexpected relationships that emerge as Zoom Reading brings to life the pedagogical complexities of working with youth and media.