• 1. Ethics, media and society
  • 1.1. Society and mass communications
  • 1.2. Media and public sphere
  • 1.3. Personal influence: opinion leaders
  • 1.4. Ethics of communication
• 2. The digital turning point: ethics, media and society
  • 2.1. Network society
  • 2.2. Connective society
  • 2.3. Platform society
  • 2.4. Introduction to digital ethics: screenshot society
• 3. Infosphere
  • 3.1. Selective exposure
  • 3.2. Echo chambers and filter bubbles
  • 3.3. Disinformation
  • 3.4. Polarization
• 4. Ethics of journalism
  • 4.1. Sources: access, verification, manipulation
  • 4.2. The rights of information
  • 4.3. The duties of information
  • 4.4. Principle of responsibility
• 5. Onlife 
  • 5.1. Social Media and connected reflexivity
  • 5.2. Networked publics between information, consumption, and entertainment
  • 5.3. Social media as self narratives
  • 5.4. Anonymity and overexposure
• 6. Ethics on the Internet
  • 6.1. The digital divide
  • 6.2. Freedom of expression
  • 6.3. Netiquette and non-hostile communication
  • 6.4. Code of ethics for research in cyberspace
• 7. Analysis of online communication
  • 7.1. Towards responsible influencer marketing
  • 7.2. Political communication in the time of memes
  • 7.3. Online communities and moderation
  • 7.4. Gen Z: between challenges and participation on TikTok

None.

Students must achieve:

1. Knowledge and understanding of the theoretical forms and evolutionary dynamics of communication media with particular attention to the dynamics related to the transformations of audiences and digital media in the ethical dimension.
1.1. Students achieve this basic knowledge by attending lectures and studying the texts discussed in the classroom.

2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: through the ability to analyze case studies related to digital communication (with particular reference to digital information, emerging communication practices, and online strategic communication).
2.1. Skills acquired through laboratory exercises in the classroom.

3. Judgment skills: critical reflection on the evolutionary dynamics of the relationship between new technologies, public, and the ethical question.
3.1. Skills applied during discussions, during exercises, and in the preparation of the final exam.

4. Communication skills: students are asked to interact in the classroom through questions, exchanges with fellow students, group work, and writing short presentations during the exercise phase.
4.1. Skills practiced in the classroom by organizing discussion and exercise moments.

5. Learning skills: students are required to adopt a learning method capable of connecting theoretical skills and empirical analysis, orienting themselves to the specification of autonomous thinking.
5.1. Skills to be enhanced thanks to arguments with the teacher and classmates.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Teaching

Lectures, in-depth seminars, classroom exercises.

Attendance

Although strongly recommended, attendance is not compulsory.

Course books

Zurovac, E. (2023). Screenshot society : come le fotografie dello schermo raccontano il nostro stare online. FrancoAngeli.

L. Ceri Etica della comunicazione Il Mulino, Bologna, 2018

Zuboff, S. (2019). The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power, edn. PublicAffairs, New York.

Assessment

Verification of learning will take place through a written test. The written test includes multiple-choice questions and open questions, through which the student will have to demonstrate that he/she can articulate some of the topics covered by the course in a short paper.

Evaluations of excellence: the possession by the student of good critical and in-depth skills; knowing how to connect the main issues addressed in the course; the use of an appropriate language concerning the specificity of the discipline.
Discrete evaluations: the possession by the student of a mnemonic knowledge of the contents; a relative critical and connecting capacity between the topics covered: the use of appropriate language.
Sufficient assessments: the achievement of a minimal amount of knowledge on the topics covered by the student, even in the presence of some training gaps; the use of inappropriate language.
Negative evaluations: difficulty in the orientation of the student concerning the topics addressed in the exam texts; training gaps; the use of inappropriate language.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

Study of course books.

Attendance

Study of course books.

Course books

Zurovac, E. (2023). Screenshot society : come le fotografie dello schermo raccontano il nostro stare online. FrancoAngeli.

L. Ceri Etica della comunicazione Il Mulino, Bologna, 2018

Zuboff, S. (2019). The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power, edn. PublicAffairs, New York.

Assessment

Verification of learning will take place through a written test. The written test includes multiple-choice questions and open questions, through which the student will have to demonstrate that he/she can articulate some of the topics covered by the course in a short paper.

Evaluations of excellence: the possession by the student of good critical and in-depth skills; knowing how to connect the main issues addressed in the course; the use of an appropriate language concerning the specificity of the discipline.
Discrete evaluations: the possession by the student of a mnemonic knowledge of the contents; a relative critical and connecting capacity between the topics covered: the use of appropriate language.
Sufficient assessments: the achievement of a minimal amount of knowledge on the topics covered by the student, even in the presence of some training gaps; the use of inappropriate language.
Negative evaluations: difficulty in the orientation of the student concerning the topics addressed in the exam texts; training gaps; the use of inappropriate language.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.