RWS Course Reader 

• The RWS100 Textbook Reading, Writing and Evaluating Argument

Short Texts 

• A collection of short texts, some of which we may use over the course of the semester

Long Texts

• Unit 1: Clive Thompson, "Public Thinking"
• Unit 2: Social media texts: Tefecki, “YouTube, the Great Radicalizer,” McNamee, “Google and Facebook Terrify me,” and Golumbia’s “Social Media Has Hijacked Our Brains and Threatens Global Democracy.” Word versions of these texts are here.
•  Unit 3: Danah Boyd, "Literacy: Are Today's Youth Digital Natives?" (footnotes)  

Supplemental Texts

• Introduction to Rhetoric (powerpoint day 1)
• Nicholas Carr, "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" Online, and Word doc.

Assorted Links

Videos on gun safety/control 

• https://vimeo.com/67729866  
• https://www.vox.com/world/2017/6/29/15892508/nra-ad-dana-loesch-yikes
  

Viagra

• The Age of Knowing (stuck in the mud, 2011)
• Viva Viagra
• Get Roman (ads decoded) 
• Cracked - decodes Viagra commercials
• One of the banned ads

Kahoot

• https://Kahoot.com
• https://create.kahoot.it/kahoots/my-kahoots
• https://play.kahoot.it/#/?quizId=a6e01090-31f7-4570-bbf5-0e5f67cc5ccf 
• 7973475 

Assorted Videos

• TED Talk, Tufecki, “We're building a dystopia just to make people click on ads” https://www.ted.com/talks/zeynep_tufekci_we_re_building_a_dystopia_just_to_make_people_click_on_ads?language=en  
• Short video about how YouTube encourages radical views. But a Wall St Journalinvestigative journalist. This work is cited by Tufecki 
  https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-youtube-drives-viewers-to-the-internets-darkest-corners- 
• Tufecki interview - CBC Canadian Broadcasting Company, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_0lITgn8pE 
• Eli Pariser and the Filter Bubble, http://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles. This TED talk is quite famous and supports and illustrates many of the arguments made in the unit 2 texts. 
• Tristan Harris on "Brain Hacking" - 60 Mnutes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awAMTQZmvPE Harris's ideas are a big part of MacNamee's 
  argument (one of the unit 2 texts).  
• 'Fiction is outperforming reality': how YouTube's algorithm distorts truth. Guardian. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=62&v=aTxUetlqWmU
• IQ Squared debate - Carr, Keen, Weinberger and Bell. This debate could be used to introduce the larger "conversation."  Carr and Keen are deeply 
  critical of social media, claiming it is damaging literacy, reasoning, deliberation and democracy (they thus echo some claims of unit 2 writers). The other two participants present optimistic positions more in tune with Thompson.  http://www.intelligencesquaredus.org/debates/smart-technology-making-us-dumb     
• Dana Boyd, "It's Complicated: Teen Privacy in a Networked Age" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t9ck8K1Ddc
• Argument Clinic: How The Internet Tricks You Into Thinking You Are Right" 2 minute Wired video with some tips on critical thinking.

Extremist Rhetoric and Fake News Sites 

• A twitter account named TIMENOUT that the bomb suspect followed. It is a fairly popular account, with around 250,000 listed followers. What are the 
  main themes? What do you notice about the rhetoric? 
• An archive of tweets by the Florida Bomb Suspect Cesar Altieri. 
• Archive of messages on Gab by Robert Bowers who is accused of attacking a synagogue in Pittsburgh.  
• Story on a new Russian site for fake news set up for the election. It has evaded YouTube's detection system with "Buzzfeed-stye knock-offs"
• This NYT story examines sites spreading fake news and fake images related to the migrant Caravan 
• House Intelligence Collection of Facebook Ads During 2016 Election by Russian Propaganda Teams
• Sample Facebook Ads from the 2016 Election Organized by Group (fake liberal, fake conservative, fake Muslim, fake BLM, etc.)  
• A collection of one year's worth of chat room logs from the neo-Nazi Traditionalist Worker's Party. 
• The BlackmattersUS site, one of the few remaining web sites created by Russian operatives during the 2016 election. 
  New materials stopped appearing there in mid-2017, but you can find a lot to analyze. You could also use archive.org to loook at how it changed over time. 
• 50 Fake Facebook Ads from the Election (Newsweek) 

Fake and/or Extremist Sites for Analysis 

1. Natural News http://www.naturalnews.com/  and  http://www.naturalnews.com/About.html. 
   “Fluoride and Why You Need to Avoid It.” By Tru Foods Nutrition, Natural News Blogs, August 14, 2017. 
   http://www.naturalnewsblogs.com/fluoride-and-why-you-need-to-avoid-it/ 
2. Global Research http://www.globalresearch.ca/
   Putin is Taking a Bold Step against Biotech Giant Monsanto
   http://www.globalresearch.ca/putin-is-taking-a-bold-step-against-biotech-giant-monsanto/5526691
   Let’s Save the World – Trump Must Go! http://www.globalresearch.ca/lets-save-the-world-trump-must-go/5603920 
3. Veterans Today http://www.veteranstoday.com/
   "Busted: Idlib Gas Attack Fakers Murder 68 Kids in Bus Slaughter" http://www.veteranstoday.com/2017/04/17/busted-idlib-gas-attack-fakers-murder-68-kids-in-bus-slaughter/
   "US Produced Sarin Gas Used in Syria" http://www.veteranstoday.com/2014/04/08/296525
   
4. Infowars, https://www.infowars.com/
   "Elite Stage Race War to Enslave America"   https://www.infowars.com/exclusive-elite-stage-race-war-to-enslave-america/  
   Antifa Creates Violence To Provoke Alt-Right Into Aggressive Reaction 
   https://www.infowars.com/antifa-creates-violence-to-provoke-alt-right-into-aggressive-reaction/ 

Reverse Image Search - Basic Critical Digital Literacy

BUZZFEED  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eKG9RuqUE4

Couros https://educationaltechnology.ca/2466

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6Q4U8DvJH8