The Media and Global Imagination: Mediagraphy as a Multimodal Learning Activity in Higher Education

Abstract

Abstract This article explores how higher education students express their worldviews and sense of belonging based on a study on mediagraphy as a learning activity. Empirical data are drawn from a study conducted in 2020 with master’s students (n=25, aged 20–30 years) in a Norwegian university. The students collected data from family members and produced short digital stories about their own daily lives juxtaposed against the daily lives of three earlier generations. The mediagraphies were analyzed by narrative analysis in a process of reflexive interpretation. A key finding is how the stories involve global imagination, a mode of thought that entails envisioning the world, placing oneself in it, and relating to other people on a global level. To give a coherent insight into the mediagraphy project, a clip accompanies the article, presenting one student’s mediagraphy. The findings show that, as a learning activity, mediagraphy can potentially be a bridge between everyday experiences and academic discussions related to media influence, ethics, and literacy.