The Ethos and Method of the Culture of Controversy
Inspired by the Jewish conception of the ethos of dispute, the school offers a comprehensive methodology for presenting and managing disagreements. Developing the seminar program on the topic of disagreement in the school is unique; we have developed the method of dispute management in a very structured way from ethos to perception, principles, skills, and tools, independent of the topic on which the disagreement unfolds.
Experiences with the method can be in diverse contents from the Jewish bookshelf, philosophical contents, or current social contents.
With the aim of the programs to create awareness and knowledge that enable engaging in dialogue with a variety of opinions and stances, a fruitful and enriching debate not from uniformity of opinions but a plurality of opinions while mapping agreements and disagreements without disintegration, incitement, polarization of opinions, and excluding the other. The school’s training programs provide practical tools for coping with media challenges, social networks, and contemporary social disputes.
In this framework: three study days in a workshop format on handling disagreements
The Attention Economy: Who Controls What I Think?
Seminar 01This seminar lasts between 5 - 7 hours depending on the population and the group’s needs; during the experiences in many different ways
Who Controls What I Think? How the Attention Economy Controls Us
- We will recognize and understand the digital and psychological factors
- We will address the dangers to a democratic society
- We will confront the increase of personal responsibility
The Attention Economy and Its Implications for Society and Democracy
- We will learn and experience phenomena and limits of human attention
- We will understand the economic implications of human attention
- We will recognize and identify what strategies are employed
Influencers and Their Influence
- We will examine the difference between an expert and an influencer and the ability to identify them online
- We will develop the ability to identify how influencers shape our attitudes unconsciously
- We will analyze and acquire tools to refine our ability to shape our opinions with a critical and conscious view of influencer influences
Digital Health
- We will be exposed to the meanings of dependence and the extent of our use in the digital space
- We will understand the damages of this dependence from psychological, social, and especially impacts on shaping our attitudes and our social and interpersonal influence abilities
- We will gain tools for norms of behavior in digital spaces, and for improving personal welfare and creating civic responsibility for social cohesion.
"The Power of a Word" – How content on digital platforms shapes our attitudes
Seminar 02This seminar lasts between 5 – 7 hours depending on the population and the group’s needs; during it there are many experiences in varied ways
"The Power of a Word" – How content on digital platforms shapes our attitudes
- We will understand how content on digital platforms exploits our cognitive biases to perform manipulations and influence our attitudes
- We will raise awareness of truths/misinformation circulated online and provide tools to identify/think critically
- We will confront the dangers to society and democracy due to false content on networks
- We will practice to raise awareness and critical thinking about online content and provide tools to cope with the manipulations they perform on us
- We will open a window to the topic of 'fake news' on digital platforms and our limitations in identifying them
The Digital Trap
- We will understand how content on digital platforms captures our attention and shapes our attitudes
- We will gain the ability to evaluate the quality of information we are exposed to in digital spaces and its impact on polarization processes
- We will understand how our attention limitations and digital health increase digital risks for deepening polarization and harming democratic society
- We will receive tools that enable us to become more responsible and aware consumers and creators of information, strengthening personal and social resilience in the digital era
"The Post That Made Me"
- We will analyze and understand the importance of posts on networks and their influence
- We will examine the implications of information on processes of social and political polarization
- We will practice the ability to critically analyze posts – truth / falsehood and their impact on me and my stance
Digital Health
- We will examine in detail the extent of our use and dependence on the digital space
- We will analyze the implications of this dependence from psychological, social, and especially on shaping our attitudes and our social and interpersonal influence abilities
- We will acquire tools and norms of conduct in digital spaces for improving personal welfare and creating civic responsibility for social cohesion.
