Delaware students learn about media and democracy through SNF Ithaca course

Photo: University of Delaware

When the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Ithaca Initiative at the University of Delaware’s Biden School expanded last year with major additional support from SNF, it added a new core focus on the role of media in democracy.

A fall-semester course sponsored by SNF Ithaca gave students at the public university the chance to learn about a relationship fundamental to how American democracy has functioned since its birth, one increasingly under scrutiny in a fraught and turbulent political—and media—landscape.

Media, Disinformation, & Democracy, the Topics in Public Policy course, was led by SNF Ithaca Senior Fellow Anna Kynthia Bousdoukou, who is also Co-Founder and Managing Director of iMEdD (incubator for Media Education and Development), Executive Director of SNF Dialogues, and a journalist. The class featured University of Delaware SNF Chair of Civil Discourse Timothy Shaffer and the perspectives of media practitioners, including Nic Dawes, executive director of New York City news nonprofit THE CITY.

Launched in 2021, the SNF Ithaca Initiative offers students a wide variety of opportunities to learn about democratic culture and build active citizenship skills, from courses like this to a student leadership program and events like the National Student Dialogue.