The impact of the internet on global society is something that has touched each and every one of us. In developing this course, we intend to facilitate a greater understanding of the impacts that the internet and information technology has had on democratization, development, and accountability around the world. We will be focusing on a few major themes: how the internet has affected economic development in lower-income countries, how the internet has affected political engagement and democratization, how it has affected international and local responses to humanitarian crises, and how the internet and new media has affected accountability. We will close the course with a broad discussion of the impacts of the ‘digital divide,’ and whether the internet has benefited global society as a whole.
This course has been approved for IR credit under List B as well as upper-level Poli Sci credit.
