Oct 22, 2020

The UCI School of Social Sciences, with funding from the Office of Inclusive Excellence “Are We in This Together? Advancing Equity in the Age of COVID-19” Initiative, announces the release of two additional modules to its Confronting Digital Extremism course on UCI Open:

Facing Digital Extremism in a Pandemic: New Modules and a Digital Toolkit to Confront Disinformation

Stay informed ahead of the election during the COVID-19 pandemic

INOCULATE yourself with these two new modules and learn how to:

  • Identify and learn strategies to counter online hate
  • Spot misinformation online, understand its origins and workings
  • Learn strategies to navigate and cut through what the World Health Organization describes as “the Infodemic”

Module 5: Racialization of COVID-19 explores how pandemics have been racialized through history and the different ways COVID-19 was racialized online as the pandemic unfolded.

Module 6: The Infodemic looks at the emerging alliance between seemingly disconnected groups ensnared in the flood of misinformation, the basis and appeal of conspiracies that arise in a time of crises, and the role of social media in facilitating the spread of COVID-19 conspiracies.

All six of the self-paced teaching modules on UCI Open are free, accessible, and open to the public. Each module comes with five components:

  1. A video lecture 15-25 minutes long
  2. Brief readings
  3. A short video from a third-party source related to the topic
  4. A classroom activity
  5. A list of recommended readings

To read about why it’s important, go to the Consortium of Social Science Association’s Why Social Science? blog.

Questions? Contact course authors Stephen ReaColin Bernatzky and Sion Avakian.

Sincerely,

Douglas M. Haynes, Ph.D. (Pronouns: he/him/his)
Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Chief Diversity Officer
Director, ADVANCE Program
Professor of History

Bill Maurer, Ph.D. (Pronouns: he/him/his)
Dean, School of Social Sciences
Professor of Anthropology

UCI Office of Inclusive Excellence UCI School of Social Science