Survival in the Information Age: Risk and the Media

On an almost daily basis, the media, through its various outlets - television, radio, web sites, RSS, and podcasts - reports on issues that address our wellbeing. Through discussions, readings, and assignments, students enhance their ability to interpret and question information presented by the media by better understanding the inherent risks. Issues like alternative medicine (i.e. vaccinations) and socio-legal issues (i.e. bullying, hacking, surveillance, privacy) provide grounds for students to use principles from the social science as a means to think critically about real and perceived risks in daily life.