LIT 81E The Influencers: How Social Media Shape Us

Social media influencers influence us. But who—or what—is influencing the influencers? This course pulls back the curtain on how social media platform design, surveillance capitalism, and algorithmic incentives have reshaped communication, identity, belief, and social conflict. It also examines how certain forms of content, like expressions of anger and outrage, proliferate in the social media-driven attention economy. Materials include critical texts, films, short fiction, and real-world case studies. (Formerly Social Media and Society.)