Transgressing Media History

Traditional Mass Media History courses serve to uphold the status quo. Born out of the white supremacist, capitalist patriarchy, the myth of the inventor provides a powerful example of one of the ways these traditional ideologies and pedagogies persist. However, through building community, being vulnerable, co-constructing knowledge, including diversity, and rewriting history, a counter- hegemonic, transgressive approach to teaching communication history in the spirit of bell hooks is possible. This starts by creating transformative and inclusive communication classrooms that serve to dismantle the myth of the inventor.