This course investigates the history and coverage of acts of state and nonstate terror, the interplay between terrorism and societies around the world and media content about acts of terror. Students explore how news media portray terrorism and terrorists, the effects of terrorism and media portrayal of terrorism on the public and the use of propaganda by terror groups and other entities.
This course explores the concept of disinformation and theories of propaganda to contextualize contemporary issues in cases around the world. Also covered are the spread of online misinformation and disinformation, the growing issue of information security in open and closed media ecosystems, public receptiveness to correcting misinformation and disinformation, surveillance tactics targeting journalists and tools for verifying information in text, images, video and audio.
Freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of association and movement, and rights to public information among other rights are explored in global, regional and country contexts. This course provides historical, philosophical, legal, political, societal and cultural perspectives about values related to online and offline freedom of expression and access to public information in a global context.
The course provides historical and contemporary perspectives on the concepts of power, globalization, networked societies and diffusion of cultural values through various forms of media and how these factors influence news media reporting, digital ecosystems, discourse and communities around the world. Students will use a number of frameworks, including models that examine the global flow of information, to study the impact of these phenomena on communities and societies.
This course examines the history of visual journalism through the medium of documentary
photography from its origins in the 1800s to the present-day digital revolution in multimedia
production and data visualization around the world. This survey course is designed to broaden
students’ understanding of the role of visual journalism in societies, and across societies, and its
power to affect scientific, political, economic, cultural and social change.
