Information Disorder in the Digital Age

ABOUT THIS CLASS

This is a 8-week virtual class using the Zoom platform.  

Thursdays: September 8, 15, 22, 29; October 6, 13, 20, 27

7:00 - 9:00 pm CST

How is today's disinformation different from Yellow Journalism or propaganda? What makes people susceptible to "fake news," and why some more than others? What can we do, personally, to avoid falling victim to it, and how might we help others? Drawing primarily on social science research, case studies, and current events, we will take an a-political approach to making sense of what some researchers have termed "information disorder" in the digital age.

Dr. Nigel Haarstad is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Communication and Digital Studies, teaching remotely for the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He has spent the last decade studying the ways social media is changing our communication patterns, working as a Computational Disinformation Analyst tracking coordinated campaigns, designing messaging for emergency alerts, and studying the impact of "new media" on our perceptions of risk. On the weekends, you'll find Nigel out on the prairie taking photos of wildlife, biking, or anything else not involving a screen.

HND VALUE STATEMENT

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this {article, book, exhibition, film, program, database, report, Web resource}, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities or Humanities North Dakota.

However, in an increasingly polarized world, we at Humanities North Dakota believe that being open-minded is necessary to thinking critically and rationally.

Therefore, our programs and classes reflect our own open-mindedness in the inquiry, seeking, and acquiring of scholars to speak at our events and teach classes for our Public University.

To that end, we encourage our participants to join us in stepping outside our comfort zones and considering other perspectives and ideas by being open-minded while attending HND events featuring scholars who hold a variety of opinions, some being opposite of our own held beliefs.