Media Literacy and Geographies of Knowledge: Space, Legitimation, and Inequality in Education

Media literacy is often treated as a universal set of competencies that can be measured and compared across educational systems. This paper challenges that assumption by examining media literacy through the lens of geographies of knowledge. Drawing on a Macedonian case study, it argues that media literacy is not merely an individual skill but a form of knowledge shaped by spatial, institutional, and linguistic contexts. Using a critical interpretation of recent research on media literacy among students, the analysis highlights how differences between urban and rural environments, general and vocational education, and linguistic communities influence access to, and recognition of, media literacy. The paper further demonstrates that dominant measurement frameworks and international indices tend to privilege standardized understandings of media literacy while overlooking locally embedded practices and forms of knowledge. Educational institutions, including universities, play a key role in these processes by legitimizing certain forms of media literacy and marginalizing others. By conceptualizing media literacy as a geo-epistemic construction, the paper contributes to debates on knowledge production, epistemic inequality, and the spatial organization of education, while advocating more context-sensitive and plural approaches to media literacy research and policy.