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Technology, Media Literacy, and the Human Subject R A Posthuman Approach . S . L E W RICHARD S. LEWIS IS Media literacy is oft en focused on evaluati ng the message rather than refl ecti ng on the medium. Bringing together postphenomenology, media ecology, posthumanism, and complexity theory, T e Richard Lewis off ers a method for such a refl ecti on and shows how our everyday media environments c h consti tute us as (post)human subjects, always in a state of becoming. An original interdisciplinary n eff ort and a must-read for everyone interested in how we become with and through technologies. o l o Prof. Mark Coeckelbergh, University of Vienna g y , We are mediated by and immersed in a world where informa� on and communica� on technologies M (ICTs) are undergoing accelerated innova� on. From hardware like smartphones, smartwatches, e and home assistants to so� ware like Facebook, Instagram, Twi� er, and Snapchat, our lives have d i become inextricably entwined with a complex, interconnected network of rela� ons. Scholarship a on media literacy has tended to focus on developing the skills to access, analyze, evaluate, and L i create media messages without considering or weighing the impact of the technological medium t e and the broader context. r a c What does it mean to be media literate in today’s world? How are we transformed by the many y , media infrastructures around us? a n d These issues are addressed through the crea� on of a transdisciplinary approach that allows for t both prac� cal and theore� cal analyses of media inves� ga� ons. The author proposes a framework h and a pragma� c instrument for understanding the mul� plicity of rela� ons that all contribute e to how we aff ect—and are aff ected by—our rela� ons with media technology. The increased H u awareness provided by this posthuman approach aff ords us a greater chance for reclaiming some m of our agency by providing a sound founda� on upon which we can then judge our media rela� ons. a n This is the author-approved edi� on of this Open Access � tle. As with all Open Book publica� ons, Technology, Media Literacy, S this en� re book is available to read for free on the publisher’s website. Printed and digital u b edi� ons, together with supplementary digital material, can also be found at h� p://www. j and the Human Subject e openbookpublishers.com c t Cover image: Albert György, Mélancolie (2012). Photo by Marieke S. Lewis (2019), CC-NC-ND. Cover Design by Anna Ga� . A Posthuman Approach e book ebook and OA edi� ons also available R S. L ICHARD EWIS OBP OPEN ACCESS TECHNOLOGY, MEDIA LITERACY, AND THE HUMAN SUBJECT Technology, Media Literacy, and the Human Subject A Posthuman Approach Richard S. Lewis https://www.openbookpublishers.com © 2021 Richard S. Lewis This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0). This license allows you to share, copy, distribute and transmit the text; to adapt the text and to make commercial use of the text providing attribution is made to the authors (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Attribution should include the following information: Richard S. Lewis, Technology, Media Literacy, and the Human Subject: A Posthuman Approach (Cambridge: Open Book Publishers, 2021), https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0253 Copyright and permissions for the reuse of many of the images included in this publication differ from the above. This information is provided in the captions and in the list of illustrations. In order to access detailed and updated information on the license, please visit, https:// doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0253#copyright Further details about CC BY licenses are available at https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/ All external links were active at the time of publication unless otherwise stated and have been archived via the Internet Archive Wayback Machine at https://archive.org/web Updated digital material and resources associated with this volume are available at https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0253#resources Every effort has been made to identify and contact copyright holders and any omission or error will be corrected if notification is made to the publisher. ISBN Paperback: 9781800641822 ISBN Hardback: 9781800641839 ISBN Digital (PDF): 9781800641846 ISBN Digital ebook (epub): 9781800641853 ISBN Digital ebook (mobi): 9781800641860 ISBN XML: 9781800641877 DOI: 10.11647/OBP.0253 Cover image: Albert György, Mélancolie (2012). Photo by Marieke S. Lewis (2019), CC-NC-ND. Cover Design by Anna Gatti. For my brother, Kenneth 1961–1971 This research was made possible thanks to the support of the Hauts-de-France Region, the Research Commission, and the ETHICS laboratory of the Catholic University of Lille. Contents Acknowledgements ix 1. Introduction: Problematizing our Relations with Media Technologies 1 Situating the Research 2 Media Literacy 6 The Non-neutrality of Technological Relations 10 Which Human Subject? 13 Situating Media Literacy with Intrasubjective Mediation 14 Research Significance and Design 15 The Layout of the Chapters 20 Concluding Thoughts 22 Part I: Situating the Interdisciplinary Concepts 2. Situating Media Literacy 27 Communication Beyond the Transmission Model 28 Media Literacy Overview 31 Expanding Media Literacy 42 Concluding Thoughts 49 3. Understanding the Medium Through the Technological Relation 53 In Medias Res 54 Postphenomenology and the Technological Relation 57 Media Ecology 67 Concluding Thoughts 84 4. The Posthuman: Situating the Subject in Human-Tech Relations 87 Humanists and Transhumanists Debating Enhancement 88 The Posthuman Subject 100 Complexity: The Key to Understanding Human Becomings 108 viii Technology, Media Literacy, and the Human Subject Part II: Developing a Posthuman Approach: A Framework and Instrument 5. Developing the Intrasubjective Mediating Framework 123 Situating the Intrasubjective Mediating Framework 124 Intrasubjective Mediation 127 The Intrasubjective Mediating Framework 129 Intrasubjective Mediation: A Dance of Complexity 154 Concluding Thoughts 158 6. Developing an Instrument to Leverage the Framework 165 Creating the Instrument 166 Identifying the Multiplicity of Relations 167 Generalizing the Framework and Instrument for Media Literacy 186 Concluding Thoughts 197 7. Conclusion 201 Summary of Main Findings 201 Strengths and Weaknesses of the Study 204 Recommendations 206 Final Thoughts 210 References 213 List of Tables and Illustrations 239 Index 243 Acknowledgements Writing this book made it abundantly clear to me how very un-solitary the process of writing is. This is not a work by an ‘individual’, but rather an assemblage of people, ideas, collaborations, support, and love from both humans and non-humans. Two people who have had a major hand in shaping this book—Yoni Van Den Eede and Joke Bauwens—were generous in both their support and criticism, encouraging my diverse interests while also gently keeping me from veering too far off my own path. Their critical feedback has been invaluable in keeping my words and ideas on track. I am also indebted to my colleagues Cathy Adams, Alberto Romele, Laurence Claeys, and Marc Van Den Bossche for their insightful feedback and guidance in the shaping of this work. I am deeply grateful to my wife, Marieke, who has supported me emotionally, financially, and academically. From her authentically loving self to her brilliance as an editor, she has encouraged me throughout this adventure. I also thank my children, Eli and Georgia, for their support and encouragement for me to leave the country for four-plus years in order to pursue my dream of living overseas. As well, I thank my parents and extended parents (Erlene and Robert, Bill and Charlie, and Helene and Donald), whose love, upbringing, friendship, and continual financial support have helped immensely. I am also blessed with two wonderful siblings, Mark who courageously and creatively also has leaped into the unknown and followed his entrepreneurial dreams, and LJ whose own passion for living an authentic life, as well as their academic brilliance, inspire me and give me confidence to pursue my own eclectic interests whole-heartedly. I am also indebted to my cousin Teri and her son Colby for rescuing me with some last minute design work. I thank my wonderful colleagues in several research departments (CEMESO/ECHO and ETHU) at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel as well