Digital Authoritarianism in the Middle East: From Disinfo Wars to Resistance
Digital authoritarianism is more rampant than ever. Authoritarian regimes use repressive information controls as a method of warfare by weaponizing surveillance and censorship, creating online deception, and a gamut of other tactics that foster information disorder in and across state borders. Digital authoritarianism inadvertently triggers a counter-response by imposing limits as communities innovate and evolve their communication methods to bypass control and assert their identities. Despite facing systemic efforts to codify and constrain their everyday digital interactions—efforts aimed at steering narratives to serve ulterior political purposes—everyday people and activists carve out online spaces in the Middle East. In other words, these factors, from information wars to resistance, do not happen in a vacuum.
This course examines so-called neo-liberation technologies, from social media to gaming platforms. State-led digital espionage, cyberbullying, industrial-level hate speech, content manipulation, and social engineering also plague the global digital space. We will examine several case studies and methodologies of surveillance and censorship. In one case, we will look at the tools of the Israeli occupation that are then exported around the world and bolstered by social media companies like Facebook’s AI. In another case, we will examine the hyper-connected world and how Big Tech shapes life in the Gulf; the usual suspects - Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple – do not just dominate the market but also help authoritarian governments keep tabs on their people.
For this course, you “choose your own adventure,” as in one difficulty mode (like a video game).
- An analytical/synthesis paper presenting what you learned, a persuasive argument, etc. (~10–12 pages long). This is the easy mode or a more manageable difficulty level. Your main objective is to gain a broader understanding of the content and learn about information literacy skills.
- A ~10–12 page research paper based on one country focusing on one of the following: an uprising, a revolution, ongoing protests, video games (content or some other area of interest about games), some sort of social media phenomena, or video games. If it fits into the course, this could be an opportunity to begin working on a senior thesis. This is the moderate mode or medium difficulty level. Your main objective is to produce something substantial or helpful for you to graduate while gaining other knowledge and skills that may be applicable later.
- A digital project based on one country focusing on an uprising, a revolution, ongoing protests, video games (content, metadata, or some other area of interest about games), or social media phenomenon. Skills labs will prepare you for this assignment and any other outside knowledge you can attain. If a senior thesis fits into this in any regard, that may be for the student to do instead. This is hard mode or expert difficulty level. You will feel more comfortable doing this level of difficulty if you have more experience with digital skills or background knowledge of the subject material. The goal is to have a project that can be put on your CV or resume to give you a leg up for an industry or academic trajectory. I will provide a sandbox for WordPress for all students.
- I must approve a proposed fourth idea: a recorded video game walkthrough contextualized with course content, a podcast, or even a skit. The sky’s the limit!
While the final project options are envisioned as individual projects, a collaborative project is also possible, which may impact the final project deliverables (i.e., a few more minutes and slides for the presentation).
Assignments
Quests (20%) - 4 total. Quests consist of think-pair-share, active learning exercises, and technical skill-building activities.
Side Quest (extra credit) - the side quest is a reflection paper on the field trip to the HUB eSports center. This additional credit assignment can replace a post, a quest, or a week's absence.
Participation (10%) - You get this by participating in activities. There is some room for grace.
Adventure Journal (20%): 4 posts on the readings, video games, etc., guided by prompts.
Final Boss (40%)
- Mindmap or Outline (5%)
- Draft (10%)
- Lightning TALK 5-7 minutes (5%)
- Finalized Project (20%)