Assistant Professor
Fernanda Bonacho
"If anyone asks, he was just kidding":
Communication and Language New Literacies
Bio
Fernanda Bonacho holds a Ph.D. in the field of Communication Languages at Nova Lisbon University, with a thesis on Communication Transliteracies on Digital Environments.
She has been doing her research for Nova Institute of Communication (ICNova) while teaching for more than twenty-five years in the area of Human Sciences and Communication in ESCS/IPL.
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Fernanda Bonacho has lectured a wide range of subjects on Language and Communication, Digital Media, and Journalism and, since 2019, she has been coordinating the project "Academy for reading the world: journalism, communication and I”, which was selected as one of the Gulbenkian Academies for Knowledge financed by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
At the moment, Bonacho is also responsible for the Media and Journalism department at School of Communication and Media Studies (ESCS) IPL – Politécnico de Lisboa.
Abstract
Keywords: Communication, Media Literacy, Journalism, Language
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It is largely argued that unless we understand and embrace the vital role conscious young citizens play in democratic systems, we encourage an infotainment network clout that relies on social sharing to survive and dismisses those who are supposed to keep a check on social abuse.
There is a consensus in the literature that media literacy could positively help to soothe concerns about information ecosystem disorders.
Although media agents need to promote themselves to survive and contribute to an informed society, they are oftentimes confronted with citizens and particularly young people who are either skeptical or uninterested.
Due to current disinformation times, we have been searching for the best ways to promote critical thought in the communication arena, particularly among youngsters.
Scholars and communication specialists have long hoped that media education could meet current literacy needs and positively relate them to social goals such as political consciousness and civic engagement.
This paper aims at exploring the relation established between literacy, language, and communication and the form these aspects connect and affect each other by introducing the project Academy for Reading the World: Journalism, Communication and I.
This project has been selected by The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation as one of the 2019 Gulbenkian Knowledge Academy networks, and it promotes an interdisciplinary approach to media literacy amongst young adults from 14 to 25 years old, considering critical thinking, self-regulation, and communication as key competencies to be developed through an immersive media experience.
It is believed that if these skills are not seriously and formally trained when dealing with media narratives, then the reading of the world and communication practices can be at risk.