Misinformation Studies and Higher Education in the Postdigital Era

This book posits that universities can thrive amidst misinformation and post-truth polarization by developing a metadisciplinary approach: misinformation studies. We must reframe our disciplinary investments around the fact of misinformation, which is a consequence and catalyst of our politically divided, postdigital environment.

In Misinformation Studies and Higher Education in the Postdigital Era: Beyond Fake News, Paul Cook argues that the epistemological complexity of the postdigital age demands a new, metadisciplinary approach to information and media – misinformation studies. Cook posits that institutions of higher education can work toward regaining the public’s trust and reinvigorating general education programs by developing a metadiscipline that directly addresses the problem of misinformation in all its various and dangerous forms. This book outlines how such a curricular pivot may be accomplished in an age saturated with generative AI, algorithmic manipulation, ubiquitous networked computing, and information overload, coupled with the myriad challenges higher education faces from seemingly all sides. Ultimately, this book makes a compelling case that universities and colleges can instead harness the fragmentation caused by this ‘perfect storm’ currently facing higher education so they can not only weather the crisis, but also emerge stronger because of it.