ANT 102 - Topics: Truth & Lies (FYS) (1)

What is the truth? Does fake news matter? In 2016 and 2017, these questions were suddenly part of our everyday conversations. We learned that all kinds of people were falling for and even promoting fake news stories on Facebook and other social media sites. For some, “fake news” became an insult to hurl at journalists. For others, there is real concern about how inaccurate, misleading and/or manipulative online reporting seems to proliferate with ease. For college students, understanding these debates is particularly important. Discerning whether information is believable, evaluating the credibility of sources, understanding the trickiness of Photoshop and correctly identifying bias are essential tools for academic success. In this FYS course, we will learn about the history of journalism, the psychology of fakery, and how cultures around the world approach the practices of truth telling and lying. Course materials will include comic and satirical “news” as well as intentionally distorted or biased reporting and ethnographic writing about dissembling in different social contexts.
(First Year Seminar (FYS))