SAN ANGELO, Texas — Dr. Renee Hobbs, professor of communication studies at the University of Rhode Island, will be the featured speaker for the 2024 E. James Holland Symposium on American Values at Angelo State University.
The symposium is planned for 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 15, in the Carr Education-Fine Arts (EFA) Building's Eldon Black Recital Hall, 2602 Dena Drive.
Hobbs' presentation, "Media Literacy in an AI World: Artificial Intelligence, Media Literacy and American Values," is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.
During the presentation, Hobbs will address the question, "How can media literacy help us retain creativity and critical thinking in an AI world?"
One of the world's leading authorities on digital and media literacy education, Hobbs is a teacher, researcher, activist and media professional, Angelo State said in a press release. She has provided faculty and staff development programs for educators on four continents and produced some of the leading empirical research on the subject.
At the University of Rhode Island, she is also co-director of the Graduate Certificate in Digital Literacy, a professional development program for educators, librarians and media professionals recognized in the U.S. Department of Education's National Education Technology Plan.
Over her 25-year career, Hobbs has developed award-winning multimedia curriculum and has published more than 200 scholarly articles and professional publications, as well as 12 books, including:
- "Media Literacy in Action: Questioning the Media" (2021)
- "Mind Over Media: Propaganda Education for a Digital Age" (2020)
- "Create to Learn: Introduction to Digital Literacy" (2017)
- "Exploring the Roots of Digital and Media Literacy through Personal Narrative" (2016)
- "Discovering Media Literacy: Digital Media and Popular Culture in Elementary School" (2013)
- "Digital and Media Literacy: Connecting Classroom and Culture" (2011)
- "Reading the Media: Teaching Media Literacy in High School English" (2007)
Hobbs is also the founder of the Media Education Lab, an online community with the mission to advance media literacy education through leadership development, scholarship and community engagement. Additionally, she is the founding co-editor of the Journal of Media Literacy Education, an open-access, peer-reviewed journal for the global media education community. She holds a Ph.D. in human development from Harvard University.
The Holland Symposium is named in honor of its creator, Dr. E. James Holland, retired dean of the former ASU College of Liberal and Fine Arts. It is designed to bring the ASU community and the public together to reflect on issues related to the country's values. In its 40 years, the symposium has brought more than 50 nationally prominent figures to the ASU campus to spark discussion on a wide variety of topics.
