Lesson: Unpacking Privilege
In this lesson, students are introduced to the idea of “privilege” in relation to diversity and how it applies to media. They then look at a checklist of media related privileges to help them understand the concept.
Grade range: 9
Time Frame
| Less than one class period (75 minutes) | Two class periods (150 minutes) |
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| Activities | Unpacking Privilege
Generating Privilege |
Unpacking Privilege
Generating Privilege Taking Action
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Note: This unit is designed to introduce students to the concept of privilege and how it applies to media representation. While it can be delivered on its own, it is mostly intended to be integrated into other units in this textbook that address diversity representation in media.
Preparation:
- Make sure that you are able to show the embedded videos or that students are able to access the links.
A printable version of this lesson is available on the MediaSmarts website.
Learning Outcomes
Big ideas/key concepts: Students will understand that…
Media have social and political implications:
- How different groups are represented in media reflects privilege and can contribute to it
Key questions:
- How can I expect groups I am a member of to be represented in media?
Misconceptions to correct:
- Media works only have messages that were intended by their authors
- “Privilege” does not exist because members of advantaged groups also face challenges in their lives
- Pointing out privilege is the same as criticizing someone
Essential knowledge: Students will know…
- Media representation: Different forms of privilege in media representation
- Community engagement: Ways of addressing privilege in media
- Key vocabulary: privilege, intersectionality
Performance tasks: Students will be able to…
- Reflect on privilege in media, both as a general concept and as it applies to them personally
- Discuss methods of addressing privilege in media
Student-friendly outcomes:
- We will learn about different forms of privilege in media representation, ways to address privilege, and key terms like “privilege” and “intersectionality.”
- We will think about how various groups, including those we belong to, are represented in media and how this reflects and contributes to privilege.
- We will reflect on privilege in media as it relates to ourselves, and discuss strategies for addressing privilege in media content.
Curriculum Connections
Strand A: Literacy Connections and Applications
A1. Transferable Skills
A1.1 Receptive and Expressive Communication
analyze and explain how transferable skills can be used to support communication in various cultural, social, linguistic, and domain-specific contexts, and apply them when reading, listening to, viewing, and creating texts of various forms
A1.2 Student Agency and Engagement
evaluate and explain how transferable skills help them to express their voice, be engaged in their learning, and implement a plan to develop their capabilities and potential
A2. Digital Media Literacy
A2.4 Forms, Conventions, and Techniques
evaluate the use of the various forms, conventions, and techniques of digital and media texts, consider the impact on the audience, and apply this understanding when analyzing and creating texts
A2.5 Media, Audience and Production
demonstrate an understanding of the interrelationships between the form, message, and context of texts, the intended and unintended audience, and the purpose for production
Strand C: Comprehension (Understanding and Responding to Texts)
C1. Knowledge about Texts
C1.7 Indigenous Context of Various Text Forms
read, listen to, and view a wide variety of text forms by diverse First Nations, Métis, and Inuit creators to make meaning through Indigenous Storywork about First Nations, Métis, and Inuit histories, cultures, relationships, communities, groups, nations, and lived experiences
C3. Critical Thinking in Literacy
C3.4 Analyzing Cultural Elements of Texts
analyze cultural elements that are represented in various texts, including, norms, values, social hierarchy, pastimes, language, and taboos, by investigating the meanings of these elements, making connections to their lived experience and culture, and considering how the inclusion of these elements contributes to the meaning of the text
C3.5 Perspectives within Texts
analyze explicit and implicit perspectives communicated in various texts, evaluate any evidence that could show bias in these perspectives, and suggest ways to avoid any such bias
C3.6 Analysis and Response
explain how various topics, such as diversity, inclusion, and accessibility, are addressed in texts, respond to the insights and messages conveyed, and different positions presented
“Privilege” means the advantages that come from being part of a dominant or majority group (White, male, heterosexual, non-disabled, etc. ).
Many people identify with more than one historically marginalized or under-represented group. Legal scholar Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw coined the term “intersectionality” to conceptualize “the way that different identity markers, such as race, gender, sexuality, and class, interact and affect each other.