Project overview
The modules, ‘Navigating the Information Age I and II’ are the product of an international collaboration between Professor Genia Schönbaumsfeld’s UKRI- funded European Research Council Advanced Grant project, The Ethics of Doubt: Kierkegaard, Scepticism and Conspiracy Theory, and Professor Duncan Pritchard’s Anteater Virtues course at the University of California, Irvine.
The modules are based on Genia’s and Duncan’s pioneering research into the role that the intellectual virtues play in knowledge acquisition. Intellectual virtues are praiseworthy character traits, attitudes or dispositions that better enable us to pursue, acquire, and share knowledge.
Everyday examples include open-mindedness, intellectual curiosity, intellectual perseverance, and intellectual courage, amongst many others. The first of their kind, the modules introduce students to the challenges that face them in the Information Age and help them address questions such as ‘how can we distinguish genuine information from misinformation? How can we avoid falling prey to online echo chambers or conspiracy theories? How do we figure out which experts to trust or which news sources are reliable?’ The modules have been available university-wide since February 2025. They also form the basis of a submission of evidence to the parliamentary ‘Media Literacy’ Committee (DOI: 10.5258/SOTON/PP0119).
The modules are based on Genia’s and Duncan’s pioneering research into the role that the intellectual virtues play in knowledge acquisition. Intellectual virtues are praiseworthy character traits, attitudes or dispositions that better enable us to pursue, acquire, and share knowledge.
Everyday examples include open-mindedness, intellectual curiosity, intellectual perseverance, and intellectual courage, amongst many others. The first of their kind, the modules introduce students to the challenges that face them in the Information Age and help them address questions such as ‘how can we distinguish genuine information from misinformation? How can we avoid falling prey to online echo chambers or conspiracy theories? How do we figure out which experts to trust or which news sources are reliable?’ The modules have been available university-wide since February 2025. They also form the basis of a submission of evidence to the parliamentary ‘Media Literacy’ Committee (DOI: 10.5258/SOTON/PP0119).
