“More than 40 percent of visits to 65 fake news sites come from social media, compared to around 10 percent of visits to 690 top US news sites,”
– 2017 study by researchers from NYU and Stanford
Are we living in a “post-truth” era in which feelings outweigh evidence, “alternative facts” take precedence, and “truth” is whatever we wish it to be? In the current climate, is fake news unavoidable? How can individuals, corporations, and governments confront this phenomenon? What are the broader implications of the dissemination of global disinformation regarding democracy, media, science, elections, religion, health care, trust in the government, climate change, identity, and bias?
This year’s two-day curriculum development workshop, held at the UW campus on July 11-12, 2019, focused on such relevant issues of “fake news”, disinformation, and media literacy, and explored a number of useful pedagogical methods, materials, and approaches for responding as a community of resourceful, dynamic educators. These topics were examined through a diverse range of disciplinary perspectives, including political science, economics, history, communications, information science, environmental studies, business, geography, sociology, and other frameworks. In total, 28 participants from 14 different community colleges in Washington State and Oregon gathered to learn how to incorporate various provocative ideas and insights into their existing curricula, develop practical activities to bring back to the classroom, and had several opportunities to network with new and existing colleagues.
“Thanks to the Jackson School of International Studies and Center for a Global Studies for hosting CCMTI 2019. It was by far the most relevant, helpful, and interesting professional development institute I have participated in during my decade and a half of teaching.” -CCMTI participant
2019 CCMTI speakers and topics included:
Tamara Leonard, Managing Director, UW Center for Global Studies: Community of Learners I and II
Mark A. Smith, UW Professor, Political Science: Keynote: Seeking Truth in a Post-Truth World
Jevin West, UW Assistant Professor, Information School: Reasoning About Data, Machines, and Deep Fakes
Eduardo Viana da Silva, UW Lecturer, Spanish and Portuguese: Community of Learners III
Jessica Abano, UW Communication Studies, Microform, & News Librarian Head, Government Publication, Map and Newspaper Collections: Truth or Truthiness? Incorporating Critical Thinking and Literacies into Your Curricula
Panel on Asia: Shannon Bush, Managing Director, UW Southeast Asia Center; Paul Carrington, Managing Director, UW East Asia Center; Sam Ostroff, UW South Asia Center
Jere Bacharach, Professor Emeritus, UW Department of History; David Fenner, Lecturer, UW Jackson School of International Studies: Cautionary Tales: Media After the Arab Spring
Educators present at this year’s CCMTI represented the following institutions:
Cascadia College; Edmonds Community College; Everett Community College; Grays Harbor College; Green River Community College; Lane Community College; Olympic College; Pierce College; Portland Community College; Seattle Central College; Skagit Valley College; South Puget Sound Community College; Tacoma Community College; and Whatcom Community College
CCMTI is sponsored by the National Resource Centers of the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies (Canadian Studies Center; Center for Global Studies; East Asia Center; Middle East Center; South Asia Center; Southeast Asia Center) – University of Washington, Northwest International Education Association (NIEA), the Global Business Center at the Michael G. Foster School of Business – University of Washington, University of Wisconsin- Institute for Regional and International Studies (IRIS), and funded by the United States Department of Education.