PREREQUISITES:
MAS students: Completion of the MAS Core courses, plus permission of the instructor.
MLIS and Dual students: Some electives can be taken in conjunction with the MLIS Core courses; consult with the MLIS Program Chair for recommendations.
GOAL: To develop skills and critical engagement with social media platforms, practices and communities.
OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of this course students will be able to:
- Assess the strengths and weaknesses of social media platforms in relation to different contexts, purposes, and audiences.
- Design social media initiatives/campaigns for diverse audiences in service of information organizations.
- Critique social media systems from a social justice perspective, with respect to colonialism, racism, bias, privacy, and intellectual freedom.
- Explain how social media tools function within larger legal, social, ethical, economic, and political contexts.
- Design and conduct in-depth analyses of digital platforms and content for both academic and professional purposes.
CONTENT:
- Emerging role of social media in LAIS
- Digital impacts on information culture
- Ethical issues in digital spaces
- Fandoms and participatory cultures
- Algorithms and systemic marginalization
- Social media policy and practices
- Cultural heritage and digital identity
- Online activism
- Platform affordances
- Misinformation, conspiracy, and extremism online
- Fostering digital communities