Control of Information at core of new Communications and Technology course

The University of Alberta’s Master of Arts in Communications and Technology (MACT) has added another new online elective to its stable of innovative research-driven courses. This new course (COMM 597 Information Control) is delivered completely online and has so far this summer attracted students from across Canada and one Russian student working in Moscow. The curriculum examines the reasons why governments, organizations, and individuals seek to exercise control over information, the pros and cons of such control, and the history and current practices of control by various means such as technology, policy, legislation, and social disapproval. Students enjoy the course because it has a wide chronological range of the content. As with all MACT classes, this class promises lively discussions, particularly concerning challenging and controversial topics. “I’ve been doing research about information control for many years; it was the focus of my doctoral thesis. I’m passionate about the topic and have remained fascinated about how and why individuals, societies, and governments control information,” says Dr. Ann Curry, instructor for the course and acting director of the graduate program at the University’s Faculty of Extension. Ann is a past director of the School of Library and Information Studies at the U of A and professor emerita at the University of British Columbia. For more information about this course and the MACT program, please visit mact.ca.