Global Affairs Digital Age

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

The digital age has radically affected the way journalists, politicians and scholars all reckon with the world. Faraway events have never felt closer, yet individuals themselves have never been more atomized, confronted by a multiplicity of sources of information. In this seminar, students will explore how the Internet and social media shape global affairs and examine the ways in which the digital age has and has not “disrupted” politics as we know it. A strong theoretical understanding of questions of nationalism, identity formation, and globalization will be combined with critical analysis of contemporary news events, including the upheavals of the Arab Spring, the spread of jihadist networks and the rise of right-wing populism in the West. Special emphasis will be placed on the role of digital journalism in an increasingly chaotic media landscape.