Week 12: Does the internet make it harder or easier to find (and tell) the truth?

I hope yesterday’s peer critique workshop provided you with some valuable feedback on your Interrogating the Interface essay. We won’t spend any more time in class working on this project, but you have until Thursday, November 12, to polish the final draft of your article.

Next week, we’ll dive into our final assignment of the semester, the Scholarly Webtext. Here’s the plan for getting started:

  • On Tuesday, I’ll introduce our new assignment and share some examples that might inspire your projects. Our class discussion will explore truth, facts, and trust on the internet. To prepare, please read Chapter 8 in Program or Be Programmed; two New York Times articles, “If a Story Is Viral, Truth May Be Taking a Beating,” and “Why Rumors Outrace the Truth Online“; and “Even If It’s Fake, It’s Real,” by Matt Haughey.
  • We won’t meet as a class on Thursday, but meeting with me in an individual conference to discuss your plans for Unit #4 will count as your attendance for the day. Please sign up for a 20-minute appointment on Wednesday or Thursday using the “Individual Conference Sign-Up Sheet” located in our class’s shared Google Drive folder. (I’ll explain a little more about what these conferences will entail during class on Tuesday.) Since we aren’t meeting as a class, you can submit your Interrogating the Interface essay anytime before the end of the day on Thursday. To submit your essay, please follow the instructions on the assignment sheet.

If you have any questions about these plans, just let me know.