RHET 1005 · Media, Technology, and the Attention Economy

Led by Black Simulacrum

Media and the attention economy from McLuhan through algorithmic curation, deepfakes, and rhetorical literacy for the AI age.

1. Module 1

   The Medium Is the Message: McLuhan, Ong, and Media Ecology

   Led by Black Simulacrum

   The question

   Marshall McLuhan (Understanding Media, 1964): every medium reshapes human perception and social organisation — not through its content but through its form. The printing press did not just spread ideas — it created linear, sequential thinking, private reading, and the individual self. Television did not just broadcast entertainment — it created the global village, the image-based public sphere, and the erosion of print literacy. The internet did not just connect computers — it created the attention economy.

   Outcome

   The student can describe the key concepts of this module and apply them to real-world examples. (The Medium Is the Message)

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 1.1 McLuhan's Tetrad: Enhancement, Obsolescence, Retrieval, Reversal Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   2. ○ 1.2 Hot and Cool Media: Participation and Engagement Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   3. ○ 1.3 Ong's Orality and Literacy: How Writing Restructured Consciousness Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   4. ○ 1.4 The Gutenberg Galaxy: Print, Individualism, and the Nation-State Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   5. ○ 1.5 The Global Village Revisited: Was McLuhan Right About the Internet? Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Begin the course → Print certificate of completion
2. Module 2

   The Attention Economy: When Attention Becomes the Scarce Resource

   Led by Black Simulacrum

   The question

   Herbert Simon (1971): in an information-rich world, the scarce resource is not information — it is attention. The attention economy is the competition for human attention among an effectively infinite supply of content. The platform business model: capture attention, measure it, sell access to it (advertising). The consequence: every platform is optimised to capture and hold attention — and the content that captures attention most effectively is emotional, extreme, and polarising.

   Outcome

   The student can describe the key concepts of this module and apply them to real-world examples. (The Attention Economy)

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 2.1 Simon's Insight: Information Consumes Attention Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   2. ○ 2.2 The Platform Business Model: Capture, Measure, Sell Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   3. ○ 2.3 The Engagement Metric: Why Outrage Outperforms Reason Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   4. ○ 2.4 The Infinite Scroll and the Variable Reward: Addictive Design Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   5. ○ 2.5 The Attention Tax: What We Lose When Attention Is Extracted Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Open this module → Print certificate of completion
3. Module 3

   Algorithmic Curation: The Rhetoric of the Feed

   Led by Black Simulacrum

   The question

   The social media feed is not a neutral conduit — it is a rhetorical construct. The algorithm decides what you see, in what order, with what framing. This is rhetorical power of a kind that no classical orator possessed: the ability to shape each individual's information environment without their knowledge. The filter bubble (Pariser), the echo chamber (Sunstein), and the epistemic fragmentation of the public sphere are all consequences of algorithmic curation.

   Outcome

   The student can describe the key concepts of this module and apply them to real-world examples. (Algorithmic Curation)

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 3.1 How the Algorithm Decides: Engagement Prediction and Content Ranking Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   2. ○ 3.2 The Filter Bubble: Personalisation as Epistemic Imprisonment Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   3. ○ 3.3 The Echo Chamber: When You Only Hear Your Own Side Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   4. ○ 3.4 Epistemic Fragmentation: The Loss of Shared Facts Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   5. ○ 3.5 Algorithmic Rhetoric: The Platform as the Most Powerful Orator in History Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Open this module → Print certificate of completion
4. Module 4

   Deepfakes, Synthetic Media, and the Crisis of Authenticity

   Led by Black Simulacrum

   The question

   AI can now generate text, images, audio, and video that are indistinguishable from human-created content. The rhetorical implications are profound: if any media can be fabricated, the default response to inconvenient evidence is "it's fake." The liar's dividend (Chesney & Citron): the existence of deepfakes benefits liars even when no deepfake is involved, because all evidence can be dismissed as potentially fabricated.

   Outcome

   The student can describe the key concepts of this module and apply them to real-world examples. (Deepfakes, Synthetic Media, and the Crisis of Authenticity)

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 4.1 Deepfake Technology: How Synthetic Media Is Created Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   2. ○ 4.2 The Liar's Dividend: When Everything Can Be Dismissed as Fake Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   3. ○ 4.3 The Collapse of Evidentiary Authority: When Seeing Is No Longer Believing Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   4. ○ 4.4 Provenance and Verification: Technological Responses to the Authenticity Crisis Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   5. ○ 4.5 The Rhetorical Response: Teaching Audiences to Evaluate in a Post-Authenticity World Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Open this module → Print certificate of completion
5. Module 5

   Rhetorical Literacy for the AI Age: A Practical Defence

   Led by Black Simulacrum

   The question

   The student who has completed this course possesses the tools for rhetorical defence in the AI age: classical rhetorical analysis (identifying the three appeals and the five canons), modern rhetorical theory (Burke's identification, Toulmin's model, Perelman's audience theory), the psychology of persuasion (Cialdini's principles, the ELM, inoculation theory), and media ecology (McLuhan, the attention economy, algorithmic curation). This module integrates these tools into a practical programme for critical engagement with the mediated world.

   Outcome

   The student can describe the key concepts of this module and apply them to real-world examples. (Rhetorical Literacy for the AI Age)

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 5.1 The Rhetorical Audit: Analysing Any Message in Three Minutes Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   2. ○ 5.2 Source Evaluation: Credibility, Bias, and the Funding Question Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   3. ○ 5.3 Argument Mapping in the Wild: From Social Media Posts to Political Speeches Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   4. ○ 5.4 Emotional Calibration: Recognising When Your Emotions Are Being Targeted Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   5. ○ 5.5 The Daily Practice: Building Rhetorical Literacy as a Habit, Not an Exercise Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Open this module → Print certificate of completion