ala 270: FAKE NEWS, LIES, AND PROPAGANDA HOW TO SORT FACT FROM FICTION
Course Info Course Description Contact Info
The class meets Mondays, What is fake news? Are we living in a post-truth Angie Oehrli 3:00-5:00, Room B830, world? This course will provide opportunities to 2178 Shapiro Undergraduate Library East Quad discuss and analyze news production, consumption, 734 936-2376 and evaluation. Students will develop the critical [email protected] (preferred) thinking skills necessary to be an informed citizen; Office Hours By Appointment understand how their worldview affects their interpretation of the news; and create a personal strategy for fact-checking and evaluating the news.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
If you need an accommodation for a disability, please let me know me know as soon as possible. Some aspects of this course and the way it is taught may be modified to facilitate your participation and progress.
As soon as you make me aware of your needs, we can work with the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) to help us determine appropriate accommodations. SSD typically recommends accommodations through a Verified Individualized Services and Accommodations (VISA) form. I will treat any information you provide as private and confidential. Contact Information for SSD: 734-763- 3000 (http://www.umich.edu/sswd/). Attendance Assignments
Assignments must be turned in by the due Attend all classes date. You are permitted one 24-hour Make arrangements for religious holidays 24 hours extension for 1 assignment notifying me 24 or more in advance hours in advance with a doctor or dean notice Complete all activities, assignments, & participate Assignments must be completed individually in discussion andrepresent individual work. Attendance=physically and mentally present Completion of all assignments, exercises, and Absences due to extenuating circumstances reflections is required to receive a passing require a doctor's or dean's notice. Any student grade. missing more than one class will not receive a passing grade. Grades Grading Scale
Grades are determined numerically with the caveats mentioned above -- You must be present in all classes and you must complete all assignments in this 7 Final Project Participation week mini course in order to earn a passing grade. 33% 33% A+ 98-100 Extraordinary achievement. Rarely given. A 94-97 Consistently distinguished performance in all course aspects. Such qualities as analytical ability, creativity, and originality are exhibited at a very high level A- 90-93 Strong, solid achievement in most aspects of the work B+ 88-89 Good performance. Consistent with performance expected of students in a critical thinking class B 84-87 Acceptable Assignments 33% B- 80-83 Borderline C+ 77-79 Poor performance. This is a marginal grade which alerts students to their limited performance ... C 73 Very poor performance C- 70-72 Minimal. Performance not at a critical thinking level. Student should review his/her progress with the instructor. D+ 67-69 Significantly below standard D 63-66 Extremely poor performance D- 60-62 Near failure ... E/F Below 59 Failure Academic Integrity
The following is taken from the LSA Academic Judiciary Manual of Procedures: “The undergraduate academic community, like all communities, functions best when its members treat one another with honesty, fairness, respect, and trust. The College holds all members of its community to high standards of scholarship and integrity. To accomplish its mission of providing an optimal educational environment and developing leaders of society, the College promotes the assumption of personal responsibility and integrity and prohibits all forms of academic dishonesty.”
Some examples of academic dishonesty include: � Cheating. Using unauthorized notes, study aids, or information from another student or students’ paper on an examination. � Plagiarism. Submitting work that in part or whole is not entirely the student’s own, without attributing such portions to their correct sources. � Aiding or Abetting Dishonesty. Providing material or information to another person with the knowledge that it will be used improperly.
Procedures for Resolving Academic Misconduct in LSA may be found here: http://www.lsa.umich.edu/academicintegrity/procedures/index.html
Syllabus format respectfully based on http://www.theonion.com/ SCHEDULE Class Date Topics Due This Week
Course Overview, What is News? 3/5/2018 What is “Fake News?” What is Opinion? Final Project Instructions Strategies for Identifying Real Assignment 1 due at start of 3/12/2018 News. Evaluating Sources and class Determination of Source Credibility Journalistic Integrity and News Assignment 2 due midnight, 3/19/2018 Production Friday, March 16
The Information Landscape. Assignment 3 due at start of 3/26/2018 Media Fragmentation and Social class Media Fact-checking Statistics and Data Assignment 4 due at start of 4/2/2018 class
Is Reality Subjective? Assignment 5 due at start of 4/9/2018 class
Catch Up. Final Project Reading and Final Projects due 4/16/2018 Presentations at start of class
Dates and topics are tentative and may be adjusted to better respond to student needs and unforeseen circumstances. Any schedule changes will be posted in Canvas, shared via email, and announced in class. Additional resources will be found in Canvas, including links to assignment details and resources.