Glob Media/DigitalDystopiaME

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

Global Media, Digital Dystopia and the Middle East—Seminar and Lab This interactive media seminar and lab will enable students to develop an ability to analyze and master the dynamics of modern media and the Middle East. Set in the context of global media ecosystems and trends of digital dystopia, seminar themes also will focus on: the linkages among and status of global and Middle East regional media systems and laws; information and political economies; cyber-security, privacy and surveillance societies; disinformation and misinformation; state and non-state media, actors and influencers; weaponized media and foreign policies amid the region’s shifting strategic and security alliances; existential challenges confronting civil society and journalists, and the short-lived promise of digital media, free expression, and the Arab spring. Building on seminar themes, the media lab component will provide the opportunity to create products, such as a podcast series, online video features, or short-form documentaries, among other products, as research assignments. Media lab sessions, as a component of seminars, will provide immersion in media ethics and professionalism, and enable professor and students, as a group and individually, to work on technical skills using available online platforms. Students may opt to fulfill course requirements with traditional seminar research papers.