Real History and Fake News

Catalog description

This course moves students beyond simplistic views of complex subjects of history, religion, politics, economics, and science. It uses the central theme of historical fact versus misinformation (e.g., fake news) as a way of providing a deeper understanding of how knowledge, both true and untrue, is produced and how it impacts larger societies as well as individual lives. The class will consider how one uses information to establish historical fact and its degree of certainty, and how to use it to build an argument. Students will also learn how to debunk false historical claims. The ultimate goal of the course is to help students develop the capacity to comprehend layered, nuanced, and complex notions of knowledge creation and truth verification.