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Media Education Lab Opens a Chicago Office

Media Education Lab Opens a Chicago Office

Yonty FriesemThe Media Education Lab is proud to announce the opening of its new office at Columbia College Chicago. Yonty (Jonathan) Friesem will start his new position as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at the college and will continue his work at the lab from Chicago. As part of his work, he will teach courses in communication, media literacy, and civic media in the undergraduate and graduate level as well as take part in local national and international initiatives to advance media literacy. Having an additional location in Chicago will allow our members and visiting scholars to have an opportunity to work in Chicago as well in Providence. 

Under Yonty Friesem's leadership as Associate Director of the Media Education Lab, he has been responsible for managing the team of visiting scholars, graduate students and staff; serving as conference liaison and outreach support; and conducting research on media production as a way to practice civic engagement and enhance social and emotional skills.

His recent international collaborations included publications and presentation on topics such as media literacy and disability, media literacy in high poverty schools, and practicing media literacy with silenced communities. He served as Midwest chair for 2017 Media Literacy Week. Together with members of the NAMLE Leadership Council, they are planning to have a regional conference next year, focused on Youth Media. Contact Yonty Friesem by email here.