Course Overview
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:
- Explain the general significance of information in contemporary society.
- Provide an informed and critical perspective on information phenomena and processes.
- Understand the nature and social roles of the information professions.
- Identify contemporary issues and their relationship with information and the information field.
Course Schedule
| Class date | Theme/reading to complete before class | Class activities |
|---|---|---|
| Sept 23 | Chapter 1. The Information Field | Introduction + Course overview |
| Sept 30 | National Day For Truth & Reconciliation - No Class | |
| Oct 7 | Chapter 2. What is Information? | Short lecture + group activity |
| Oct 14 | Chapter 3. Information Issues | Presentations of results from week 2 activity + short lecture. |
| Oct 21 | Chapter 4. Humans in an Information Society | Lecture + group discussions |
| Oct 28 | Chapter 5. Work in the Information Society + Chapter 6. Information in Organizations | Guest lecture from Kellie Dalton |
| Nov 4 | Chapter 7. The Information Economy | Lecture + group discussions |
| Nov 11 | Reading week - no class. | |
| Nov 18 | Chapter 8. The Attention Economy | Lecture + group discussions |
| Nov 25 | Chapter 9. Misinformation, Disinformation, and Fake News | Guest lecture from Christine Smith (virtual) + class activity + group discussions |
| Dec 2 | Chapter 10. Information and Democracy | Lecture + group discussions |
| TBD | Chapter 11. Information Justice | Guest lecture TBD + discussions |
Assignments
| Assignment | Due date | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Participation self-assessment - Part 1 | Friday, September 26, 2025 | 7.5% |
| Analysis of an information setting | Friday, October 17, 2025 | 30% |
| Participation self-assessment - Part 2 | Friday, October 31, 2025 | 5% |
| Essay plan | Friday, October 31, 2025 | 10% |
| Essay | Friday, December 12, 2025 | 40% |
| Participation self-assessment - Part 3 | Friday, December 12, 2025 | 7.5% |
Other Important Information and Resources
- You can access this course website without going through Brightspace with the following URL: https://pmongeon.github.io/information-in-society/.
The official course syllabus.
A Zotero library with all the references in the course website, organized by chapter.
Use Zotero (or another reference manager of your choice) to store your references and cite them in your work. (not mandatory, but highly recommended).
Use APA style for your references in all assignments.
You can use this Word template to write your assignments (not mandatory). Whether you use this template or not, I strongly recommend using Word styles to format and structure your document.
Have fun.
Acknowledgements
The textbook would not have been possible without the financial support, through an OER grant, of the Dalhousie Center for Learning and Teaching and the Dalhousie Libraries. It also would not have been possible without the help and support of Dr. Samantha Taylor, senior instructor and co-lead on the project, who orchestrated the writing of the case studies included throughout the book. It also would not have been possible without the hard work of Janine McGregor, Maddie Hare, Poppy Riddle, and Tessa Biesterfeld, alumni from Dalhousie’s Master of Information program, who wrote the case studies and helped draft some of the chapters. Special thanks to Janine McGregor, who played a leading role in the planning and writing of the textbook.