Course Description

This course addresses how communication professionals and everyday

citizens consider the ethics of communication. Areas such as public

relations, reporting, photojournalism, politics, print, broadcast news,

and social media will be examined in the context of justice, morality,

fairness, and care.

Students will be prepared to engage in careers in communication and

media with a careful, mature, and thoughtful framework. We will examine

practical questions: How should the media cover issues that are sensitive or

even harmful? How do we deal with privacy, particularly in the context of

pervasive media? How do we – as humans – live and communicate with

integrity? How has media affected issues such as systemic racism?

The course makes use of popular films, internet videos, websites, blogs,

mainstream media, and academic articles. The course begins with an

introduction to philosophical ethics and moves on to address timely issues

in areas such as advertising, politics, business, and entertainment. This

course encourages lively debate and is most fun when students engage and

participate with the course materials and with one another. The course

setup allows for students to create an online portfolio of thoughtful writing

that demonstrates the ability to think ethically and to write with clarity.

This series of posts can be shared with potential employers if students

wish.

VALUE-ADD: This course is unique in that if students complete ALL of the

weekly assignments, they will earn TWO university-approved

microcredentials in the form of "digital badges." These are extra

qualifications that can be attached to students' resumes. I have

constructed this course so that the university will approve microcredentials

in "Ethical Decisionmaking" and "Focusing on Solutions." These additional

badges can help to set students apart from other graduates and

demonstrate career readiness. There is NO ADDITIONAL FEE for these

microcredentials -- I've made this process FREE for students in this course.

There is also no additional work beyond that completed for the course in

order to qualify for these microcredentials. However, all coursework must

be completed in order to be awarded the microcredentials.