Skip to main content

Tools Nav

  • Rutgers.edu
  • Apply for Admission
  • Request Information
  • Make a Gift

Nav pre header base

  • Course Listing
  • Directories
  • Contact Us
  • Search
Phone
Phone
Close offcanvas
Home

Search

Advanced search

Main navigation

  • Undergraduate Programs
    • Communication Major
    • Information Technology and Informatics Major
    • Journalism and Media Studies Major
    • Data Science Minor
    • Digital Communication, Information and Media Minor
    • Gender and Media Minor
    • Undergraduate Admissions
    • Office of Student Services
  • Graduate Programs
    • Master of Communication and Media
    • Master of Information
    • Ph.D. Program
    • Graduate Admissions
    • Office of Student Services
  • Continuing and Professional Studies
    • Advanced Creative Operations Silver Certificate
    • Crisis Communication and Reputation Management Certificate
    • Digital Asset Management Bronze Certificate
    • Digital Asset Management (DAM) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Silver Certificate
    • Digital Asset Management for Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums (DAM for GLAM) Silver Certificate
    • Public Relations Certificate
    • Strategic Digital Asset Management (DAM) Operations Silver Certificate
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • News
    • Events
    • Contact the CPS Leadership Team
  • Research
    • Research Groups
    • News
    • Events
    • Bettering NJ Together
    • Scholarship Incubators
    • Publications
    • Books by SC&I Faculty
    • Active Grants
    • Keywords
    • Research Portal for SC&I Investigators
  • Alumni Connections
    • SC&I Alumni Association
    • Rutgers Alumni Association
  • Giving
    • Ways to Give
    • Development News
    • SC&I Gift Funds
  • About SC&I
    • Meet the Dean
    • Employment Opportunities
    • School Facts and Rankings
    • DEI – Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
    • Visit SC&I
    • Contact SC&I
    • Communication Department
    • Journalism and Media Studies Department
    • Library and Information Science Department
    • Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture and Feminist Studies
    • SC&I History

Tools Nav

  • Rutgers.edu
  • Apply for Admission
  • Request Information
  • Make a Gift

Tools Nav pre header base

  • Course Listing
  • Directories
  • Contact Us
  • Search
Home

Main navigation

  • Undergraduate Programs
    • Communication Major
    • Information Technology and Informatics Major
    • Journalism and Media Studies Major
    • Data Science Minor
    • Digital Communication, Information and Media Minor
    • Gender and Media Minor
    • Undergraduate Admissions
    • Office of Student Services
  • Graduate Programs
    • Master of Communication and Media
    • Master of Information
    • Ph.D. Program
    • Graduate Admissions
    • Office of Student Services
  • Continuing and Professional Studies
    • Advanced Creative Operations Silver Certificate
    • Crisis Communication and Reputation Management Certificate
    • Digital Asset Management Bronze Certificate
    • Digital Asset Management (DAM) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Silver Certificate
    • Digital Asset Management for Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums (DAM for GLAM) Silver Certificate
    • Public Relations Certificate
    • Strategic Digital Asset Management (DAM) Operations Silver Certificate
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • News
    • Events
    • Contact the CPS Leadership Team
  • Research
    • Research Groups
    • News
    • Events
    • Bettering NJ Together
    • Scholarship Incubators
    • Publications
    • Books by SC&I Faculty
    • Active Grants
    • Keywords
    • Research Portal for SC&I Investigators
  • Alumni Connections
    • SC&I Alumni Association
    • Rutgers Alumni Association
  • Giving
    • Ways to Give
    • Development News
    • SC&I Gift Funds
  • About SC&I
    • Meet the Dean
    • Employment Opportunities
    • School Facts and Rankings
    • DEI – Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
    • Visit SC&I
    • Contact SC&I
    • Communication Department
    • Journalism and Media Studies Department
    • Library and Information Science Department
    • Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture and Feminist Studies
    • SC&I History

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Digital Media Ethics

[ 17: 194: 594]  Digital Media Ethics

Credits, Prerequisites, and Corequisites:

 

credits:
3
prerequisites:
NONE
corequisites:
NONE

 

Description:

Exploring the process of moral decision-making—that is, doing ethics—is an inescapable part of life. We routinely make ethical judgments, assess our values, and interrogate our moral outlooks, whether or not we think much or put names to this process. Many of us start our professional careers more or less accepting the beliefs and values we’ve inherited from culture, society, and/or family. But only through a deliberative critical examination of our decision-making processes do we make our ethical frameworks truly our own.

This course raises the questions and requirements associated with autonomous ethical action but with no ready answers. The overriding goal is, through using various theoretical frameworks to reach logically defensible answers instead of reacting with your gut or anecdotal evidence, to spur you to continuing reflection on your moral approaches in professional settings and in your broader “digital lives.” The process of doing ethics is nothing if not devoted to serious, careful reflection and application. As such, this course emphasizes both the theoretical underpinnings of how we come to a given moral philosophy and case studies specific to digital media. We will
consider how different moral philosophies apply across cultures and across different contemporary media practices and platforms in areas such as advertising, promotional marketing, big data, software and interface design, and fake news.

 

Learning Objectives:

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

  • Identify and explain key ethical theories.
  • Articulate current codes of behavior for media professionals working in digital media environments.
  • Apply ethical models across communications professions.
  • Discuss and deliberate on moral dilemmas involving digital media practices and forms, using various ethical frameworks.
  • Logically justify their ethical decision-making process in a given scenario.
  • Retroactively apply theories of ethics to better understand their decision-making processes in past real-life dilemmas.
close

Rutgers logo

4 Huntington Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
848-932-7500
sci-info@comminfo.rutgers.edu

New Brunswick | Newark
Camden | Rutgers Health

Student Resources

  • Office of Student Services
  • Tuition, Scholarships, and Financial Aid
  • Career Assistance and Support
  • News
  • Events
  • Graduation
  • Privacy Statement

Faculty/Staff Resources

  • Resources
  • Current Academic Calendar
  • Space and Equipment Reservations
  • Information Technology Services
  • Instructional Design and Technology Services
  • Finances and Purchasing
  • Research Portal

Stay Connected

Twitter Facebook Instagram Linkedin You Tube Tiktok
@RutgersCommInfo
#RutgersCommInfo
#RUSCI

Free Expression at Rutgers

Rutgers is an equal access/equal opportunity institution. Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to direct suggestions, comments, or complaints concerning any accessibility issues with Rutgers websites to accessibility@rutgers.edu or complete the Report Accessibility Barrier / Provide Feedback form.
© 2025 Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. All rights reserved. Contact webmaster
Back to top