Quaderns del CAC, a reference journal in the field of Communication, has just published a monographic issue dedicated to critical thinking, which includes an article by Lydia Sánchez and Jorge Franganillo on the challenges of fostering critical thinking in degrees of Audiovisual Communication.
Their paper, entitled «Audiovisual Communication and critical thinking: challenges for university training», raises the challenge and the need to train Audiovisual Communication students in critical thinking. This way of thinking, logical, reflexive and grounded, is a central pillar of audiovisual communication and university training, as it allows evidence, arguments and opinions to be analysed and evaluated in a reasoned way. It is a key skill for citizens in the digital age, where misinformation and manipulation are frequent and decidedly dangerous phenomena.
Media and information literacy is an effective strategy for developing critical thinking in the audiovisual field. It is also necessary to face new educational challenges related to the inappropriate use of mobile phones, the internet or video games; the consolidation of gender stereotypes through social networks; the social isolation caused by abusive use of the mobile phone, and the ethical and credibility problems generated by the rapid advances in generative artificial intelligence.
In this paper, Sánchez and Franganillo argue that critical thinking is essential for communication professionals, as it enables them to evaluate evidence, arguments and opinions, and to confront phenomena such as misinformation or information manipulation in the exercise of citizenship. Likewise, they claim higher education as a public good and a human right, and show concern for a university threatened by market imperatives and political interests.
Sánchez, Lydia; Franganillo, Jorge (2023). Audiovisual Communication and critical thinking: challenges for university education. Quaderns del CAC, 49, 17–25. https://doi.org/10.34810/qcac49id420706
