Dear Clarkson Faculty & Staff,
REMINDER: The Clarkson University Libraries are excited to announce our first credit-bearing course,
LIB 201 Digital Citizenship & Information as Power.
The three-credit course, offered Spring 2020 with one face-to-face and one online section, will teach students how to think critically about information, both in an academic context and as media consumers, while simultaneously preparing them for college-level research.
The course catalog description says
“How has our access to and consumption of information changed over time? How will it change in the future? How can we be responsible citizens and media consumers in today’s information landscape? This discussion-based course will consider the history and analysis of information creation and use, with an emphasis on the news media and scholarly publishing. Students will learn to analyze the source, purpose, and quality of information and consider the ethical implications of information collection and use. Topics will include the history of the news media and propaganda, information production and ethics, evaluation of information, the movement toward a participatory culture, social media and the news, fake news and “alternative facts,” media consumption, and the 1st Amendment and media regulation. Students will also be given an in-depth introduction to the college level research process, focused on a topic of their own choosing. Students will leave the course comfortable with using library resources and able to excel at college level research. Students will also be able to critically evaluate information and analyze the creation and use of information. All majors are encouraged to enroll, and there are no prerequisites.”
The course will focus simultaneously on the production of information as well as academic research skills. Topics will include the news media, peer review, information ethics, information and democracy, the 1st Amendment, marginalized knowledge, open access, and privacy in the age of big data. The course will be heavily discussion focused and will emphasize critical thinking and analysis with regard to all types of information.
Students will work their way step-by-step through the research process under the supervision of the librarian instructors. The research topics will be chosen by the students to encourage projects relevant to their specific major. Self-reflection on information consumption as well as an exploration of the information creation process and use within individual majors and chosen professions will be encouraged. Students should leave the course comfortable with college-level research.
Advisors please encourage your students to register for LIB 201 Digital Citizenship & Information as Power. For more information on the course, please visit our website. For a draft syllabus, please don’t hesitate to contact Amber Dashnaw at aldashnaw@clarkson.edu or Lisa Hoover at lhoover@clarkson.edu.
Sincerely,
Amber Dashnaw
Public Services Librarian for Graduate Education
Lisa Hoover
Public Services Librarian
