The writing dialogue follows on from the symposium «Normativity and Media Practice – Perspectives from the Philosophy of Education and Media Education» at the autumn conference of the section in Vienna. Building on discussions from previous section conferences, various arguments are presented concerning different levels of both internal and external scholarly dimensions of normativity. How is the relationship between research and educational practice shaped within media education? How can the legacy of critical theory be taken up and further developed in the present? How should academia respond to societal demands and expectations? Do external dimensions of normativity point towards the metaphysical realm, which lies beyond the reach of academic inquiry? Do socio-political developments require scholars to become politically involved? If so, can they do so as scholars, or not? How can the privileged positioning of the authors, and of academics in general, be taken into account in these questions? The authors engage in a written disputational dialogue on these issues, exploring a range of possible responses without necessarily arriving at a concluding compromise.