E. James Holland Symposium on American Values
The symposium is named in honor of its creator, E. James Holland, retired dean of the ASU College of Liberal and Fine Arts, and is designed to bring the ASU community and the public together to reflect on issues related to the country’s values.
The E. James Holland Symposium on American Values has brought more than 50 knowledgeable and sometimes provocative figures from the front lines of American culture and society to the ASU campus to spark discussion on a wide range of topics. Pop culture, politics, entertainment, immigration, foreign policy and violence provide a sampling of the subjects covered in the annual lecture.
The Holland Symposium has brought to campus noted scholars from a variety of fields, including ecology, sociology, psychology, political science, education and business.
2024 Symposium: Artificial Intelligence, Media Literacy and American Values
How can media literacy help us retain creativity and critical thinking in an AI world?
Our speaker, Dr. Renee Hobbs, a professor of communication studies at the University of Rhode Island and founder of the Media Education Lab, will discuss:
- How educators can help learners ask critical questions that enable people to recognize the subtle forms of manipulation embedded in all forms of symbolic expression.
- An understanding of the business models and technological affordances of AI, machine learning and big data in order to distinguish between harmful and beneficial AI tools, texts and technologies.
- Why creative and critical thinking, when it is combined with intellectual humility and empathy, help people develop the identity of a lifelong learner.
Upcoming Presentations
About the Speaker
At the University of Rhode Island, Hobbs serves as the co-director of the Graduate Certificate in Digital Literacy, a professional development program for educators that was officially recognized in the U.S. Office of Education’s National Education Technology Plan (2015). Hobbs has provided staff development to educators from across the United States and on four continents around the world.
Over 25 years, Hobbs has developed award-winning multimedia curriculum and has published more than 150 scholarly articles, professional publications and books including:
- “Routledge Companion on Media Education, Copyright and Fair Use,” 2018
- “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
- “Copyright Clarity: How Fair Use Supports Digital Learning,” 2011
- “Reading the Media: Teaching Media Literacy in High School English,” 2007
For more information about the symposium, contact: