Module aims:

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• articulate your own understanding of "truth" and "misinformation" along with related critical issues
• critically examine case studies related to the issue of truth and misinformation from interdisciplinary perspectives
• demonstrate an improvement in your ability to express and structure an evidence-based argument
• explain the complex relationship between academic disciplines such as science and critical theory
• express your own perspective of how truth is constructed and the contexts of its production
• critically analyse misinformation, emerging media, and media literacy across cultures, disciplines, and time periods
• apply compassion and curiosity to gain a greater understanding of misinformation campaigns and their popularity among certain groups
• demonstrate an understanding of the threat that misinformation poses within the contemporary information ecology

Module Leader:

Dr Dannelle Gutarra Cordero

Core module

Term 1 and Term 2 | 20 weeks

30 CATS

2 hour workshop per week

Not available to students outside the School for Cross-Faculty Studies.

Please note: Module availability and staffing may change year on year depending on availability and other operational factors. The School for Cross-Faculty Studies makes no guarantee that any modules will be offered in a particular year, or that they will necessarily be taught by the staff listed on these pages

Indicative topics:

Please note that these topics are purely illustrative, and that actual module content may differ.

• concepts of scientific objectivity and universality
• socially-constructed models of truth
• the individual, social, and political consequences of various models of truth
• communication of risk and risk perception
• political and social constructions of misinformation
• the key role played by news media in society in spreading both information and disinformation
• propaganda, conspiracy theories, fake news, memes, social media
• the changing role of expertise in a fragmented public sphere

Assessments:

There are five assessments on this module: