Domesticating space: Media production pedagogy for the empowerment of marginalized youth

Abstract

This article inquires into the role of space in media and information literacy (MIL), especially when supporting learners’ production skills. The MIL framework is to a great extent focused on deconstruction of messages in a private position of reception, while the theoretical, didactic and ethical components of the production pedagogy are less developed. This multiple-case study analyses the situated agency of young people in a vulnerable position with regard to the spaces where agency is sustained. We develop the concept of production context into a more specific concept of production space and apply it to the film club in a suburb in Sweden. We combine qualitative analysis of critical situations in selected spaces with theoretical development of the idea of production space, to arrive at increased understanding of production skills and related media pedagogy.