Extremism, Terrorism, and the Internet

Catalog description

Over the past several decades, the internet has become more ingrained in daily life for billions of people around the world. It is no surprise, then, that extremists and terrorists use the internet as well. In this course, we will learn about how extremists and terrorists use the internet, with particular focus on social media. We will think about the different types of activity that these actors engage in. We will interrogate the online spaces where this activity takes place. And we will consider different responses to this activity, both from companies that control different online spaces and from governments. By the end of the semester, students will have a better empirical and theoretical understanding of extremism, terrorism, and the internet, and they will be able to analyze past, present, and future forms of activity by these actors in different online spaces.