124182 VK BEd 08b.3: VK Cultural Studies and Language Education (2025S)

While “fake news” – in essence, false or misleading information that is presented as fact-based news – is not an entirely new phenomenon, it has gained unprecedented prominence with the widespread adoption of digital media. In times of deep fakes, “truthiness” (a term coined by Steven Colbert), and images of the Pope donning a Balenciaga puffer jacket, telling facts from fiction, truth from misinformation is becoming increasingly difficult. At the same time, websites such as The Onion (or the Austrian equivalent, Die Tagespresse), which are decidedly satirical in nature, showcase the creative potential that a lack of clearly defined parameters for “truth” may hold. In this course, we will delve deeper into these and related topics, exploring them from both theoretical and practical angles.
While the primary thematic focus will be on the two central issues and terms, we will also discuss and revise classic texts of cultural studies (by Stuart Hall, John Storey, and others) that highlight the necessity of critical thinking as a basis of this field of study. Finally, we will engage with the extent to which AI is implicated in the reproduction of existing biases and inequalities, while at the same time discussing how it might be used as a tool in didactic settings, with a view towards increasing students’ critical media literacy and with certain caveats in mind.
The individual sessions of this course will combine classroom discussions, group work, and activities developed by students.