module specification

The ongoing development and convergence of digital technologies in the 21st Century, creating a globally interconnected domain called cyberspace, has seen every aspect of modern society, from how we communicate to how we wage war, become cyberdependent. This has brought with it a number of benefits as well as vulnerabilities as the number of actors seeking to exploit cyberspace expands, ranging from individuals to small groups, non-state actors, and governments.

This module will explore how there are an increasing number of threats to national security that have evolved in cyberspace, from undermining democratic systems, disrupting commerce and industry, to attacks on critical infrastructure and military systems, including the changing nature of warfare, and the debate around what is meant by cyberconflict and cyberwarfare.

You will examine how there has been an almost exponential growth of information warfare as state and non-state actors seek to manipulate information to influence outcomes on the battlefield and in politics at all levels.

You will consider how digital information – who creates it, owns it, manipulates it, and how it is shared – has become contested terrain. This will include exploring how digital information has been used to both support and undermine democracy, blurring the boundary between what is fake and what is real, and how authoritarian governments link the potential of digital infrastructure to tools of societal manipulation and control.

You will also consider whether individuals have become the new commodity in this technological revolution, in an era defined as ‘the Age of Surveillance Capitalism’.

No pre- or co- requisites required
This module is available for Study Abroad students

The syllabus will include:

1. What is cyberspace and what does it have to do with me?
2. The convergence of information warfare
3. Fake v. Truth? How do we know what is real?
4. Political warfare in an age of cyberconflict – case studies will include China, Russia, the USA, North Korea and Iran
5. Artificial Intelligence
6. Social media as information warfare
7. Safeguarding democracy in the digital age
8. The age of surveillance capitalism
9. The fluid shape of modern information warfare
10. The future of cyberspace

All LOs will be covered throughout the syllabus

Teaching consists of a weekly two-hour interactive lecture followed by a one-hour seminar/workshop. Lectures will involve a combination of taught lectures, videos and the use of first-hand documents and websites.

During the module seminars/workshops will combine a variety of methods including discussion based on pre-set questions and role plays focused on key contemporary concerns raised by developments in the use of cyberspace, allowing students to explore the issues raised as practitioners. They will be encouraged to work together as partners, building on the skills and knowledge gained during the module.

Blended Learning will be a key component of the module. Lecture notes and first-hand documents for use in class will be posted on-line, as will web links for academic and governmental websites, as well as video links and library resources. Lectures recordings will be made available on-line.

Questions for class discussion, assessment tasks, and role play scenarios will be available from the beginning of the module via the Weblearn site, which will include a list of resources students can use to allow them to study the subject in greater depth.

Throughout students will be encouraged to reflect on their learning, and skills training focused on successfully completing assessments and transferrable skills for the workplace will be embedded in the module.

Upon completion of this module you will be better equipped to:

1. Be able to identify key actors and processes in cyberspace, including state governments, non-state actors, and individuals

2. Understand the challenges and benefits the development of new digital technologies bring and how they may be transforming notions of power, reality and warfare.

3. Be able to assess and critically analyse how cyberspace is being used to undermine or support democracy, challenge or promote human rights (and other global issues), and commodify the individual.

4. To develop research skills, and to communicate effectively in speech (the ability to work under pressure in seminars, where students must demonstrate the ability to respond to questions orally and also work as a team) and writing (for example, writing an essay using commonly accepted standards of definition, analysis, grammatical prose, and documentation).

Inclusivity is central to the assessment strategy. Students will be given weekly tasks which are designed to enable students to work together as practitioners, seeking solutions to real-world problems. This will contribute to a portfolio of written work which will form the final submitted work.

Initial submissions will count as formative pieces of work to enable students to build skills for the later summative work. The summative work will involve written discussions of case studies and real-world events which will allow students to reflect on their own personal experience with cyberspace, as well as the broader concerns of the international community.

The continuous assessment is designed to enable students to use a range of learning methods and employability skills, including: independent research; reading a wide range of primary and secondary sources; communicating ideas verbally in class; and working as a team. Throughout students will be expected to reflect on what they have learnt and make use of constructive feedback.

https://rl.talis.com/3/londonmet/lists/D2D42A73-E13D-FA73-EC55-2E4579F5DA0D.html