Undergraduate Module Descriptor

ANT3095: Social Media, Disinformation, and Authoritarianism

This module descriptor refers to the 2022/3 academic year.

Module Aims

The intentions of this module are to critically assess social media from a social scientific perspective. How social media platforms enable, exacerbate, and profit from the spread of disinformation will be a key focus. Further, this module connects the spread of disinformation on social media to rising and emergent authoritarianism around the globe. 

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills1. Demonstrate extensive familiarity with the major social media platforms and how they operate to spread disinformation globally
2. Show an advanced understanding of the impact of social media on different cultures
3. Display a critical awareness of the relationship between social media and politics
Discipline-Specific Skills4. Show an in-depth understanding of how qualitative social scientific approaches can be used to study digital sources
5. Evaluate how social media platforms affect societies
Personal and Key Skills6. Communicate effectively in written and oral form
7. Conduct specialised research on a topic and organize findings in written form in a compelling manner