Alt-Right Media Literacy Series

Chelsea Kai Roesch
Film and Media Studies
UC Santa Barbara

The Alt-Right Media Literacy Series is designed to unite students, scholars, activists, and publics who are invested in a multi-modal, interdisciplinary approach to curbing the spread of Alt-Right ideology and mis/disinformation in the contemporary mediascape. The election of Donald Trump and the January 6th riot at the Capitol demonstrated the potency and militancy of the growing Alt-Right movement. With midterm and national elections on the horizon, our Alt-Right Media Literacy Series will serve as a platform for scholars and the public to engage with the increasingly powerful and visible coalitions of the Alt-Right. The Alt-Right Media Literacy Series consists of six Zoom discussion sessions starting in Fall 2022 and continuing through Spring 2023. The structure of events includes: 1) a six-part speaker series with scholars invited to speak on the Alt-Right through the lenses of history, cultural studies, art, new media, religious studies, and feminism, and 2) an in-person workshop in which graduate students will present their work and participate in discussion sessions with likeminded scholars and activists. Our working group is also working on developing two projects: a special edition of Media Fields (a journal produced by UC Santa Barbara’s Film and Media Studies graduate students) and an archive of Alt-Right digital media.