Rebranding Media Literacy Pedagogy: Power, Hegemony, and the Pastoral Circle

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2026

Abstract

This paper examines how the ‘empowerment spiral’ of early US media literacy – rooted in Freirean critical pedagogy and South American liberation theology – was rebranded as the ‘Pastoral Circle’ for Catholic educators in the early 1990s. Through discourse analysis of the Catholic Connections to Media Literacy (1992) curriculum kit, the article explores how theological and pedagogical concepts were selectively rearticulated to align with Catholic institutional authority. While preserving critical pedagogical practices such as dialogical reflection, the rebranding simultaneously served hegemonic purposes by subordinating media literacy to papal doctrine and avoiding references to radical social movements. Findings recover the direct roles of Catholic liberation theology and its Catholic labour movement antecedents in the history of critical media literacy. Discussion re-centers discourses of the Global South in the history of critical pedagogy in North America and globally, suggesting further research to explore how political, institutional, and cultural forces silenced and obscured the prominent roles of South American liberation theology in critical media literacy specifically, and critical pedagogy broadly. This historical analysis offers insight on contemporary issues in critical media literacy and critical pedagogy amidst current political actions to limit the study of diversity, equity, inclusion and so-called ‘controversial topics’ in schools and universities.

DOI

10.1080/19422539.2026.2653230

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