Apr 24, 2024  
2020-21 Graduate Catalog 
    
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2020-21 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

PL 455 (How) Do We Know What We Know? Truth, Media, Politics

This course might be thought of as a combination of a course in epistemology, philosophy of science, and the ethics of journalism. The purpose of it is to raise questions as to the relationship between the problems philosophers discuss when they think of issues of truth and knowledge and the problems journalists have as they go about their profession. In particular, how do voters know what they are getting when the vote for a candidate in these days of spin rooms, sophisticated, poll-driven ads, “gotcha” questions—and when the voting public is segmenting into ever narrower politically defined niches.