MERR 60Fake News: Its History and Why We Need Critical Media Literacy
Teaches students how to take skillful possession of their power as citizens by participating in community focused news literacy service learning projects. Recently, debates about fake news in entertainment, politics, and news media have centered on the threat American citizens' waning news literacy skills pose to the democratic process. Course develops those skills, focusing on critical thinking, the history of fake news and journalism, differences between journalism and fake news, news and propaganda, news and opinion, bias and fairness, assertion and verification, and evidence and inference. Integrates coursework into collaborative community engagement projects that seek to advance the community's news literacy skills.
- All students from any college or high school can enroll.
Find a section and add it to your scheduleLive seat counts, time-conflict checks and the walk from your previous class.
When it runs
Summer 2026Open Summer 2026
| Section | Type | When | Where | Instructor | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Seminar | TBA | Online | N. Higdon | Open 143/201 |
| 02 | Seminar | TBA | Online | N. Higdon | Open 108/201 |
Spring 2026Open Spring 2026
| Section | Type | When | Where | Instructor | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Seminar | Tue Thu 8:00am–9:35am | Cowell Clrm 131 | N. Higdon | Open 49/50 |
Fall 2025Open Fall 2025
| Section | Type | When | Where | Instructor | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Seminar | Asynchronous | — | Staff | Closed 0/0 |
Who teaches it
| Instructor | Rating | Difficulty | Would take again | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nolan Higdon | 3.8 / 5 | 2.5 / 5 | 66% | 46 |
From RateMyProfessors, which is student-submitted and not a survey. Small review counts move a long way on one bad quarter.
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