Trust, Credibility and Expertise

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

170 hours

Admission to Master of Arts in Professional and Applied Ethics or Master of Journalism or Executive Master of Arts or Master of Public Policy and Management, or graduate diploma (advanced) in History and Philosophy of Science.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

Questions of credibility and trust are integral to the assessment of knowledge claims both within science and in the context of public debate. Questions about trust and credibility consequently arise every day in a range of professional contexts, for example in journalism and public relations, in police work, in development work, in scientific research, etc. But what is trust and what makes one trustworthy? And how do we pick out who the experts are? This course will interest students in a wide range of careers, exploring these topics together with students of applied ethics.

Questions to be covered:

Trust

• What is trust? What makes one trustworthy?
• Is there a decline in trust, in the media, in politicians, or in scientists for example?
• Do we need to trust our sources of information, and do they need to trust us?
• How do we manage conflicts that arise in relationships of trust?

Credibility

• What indicators do people rely on when trusting others, or information in the media?
• What makes someone a credible source of information?
• Do we need additional verification, and if so how much?

Expertise

• Should we defer to experts?
• What role do ‘experts’ play in public debate
• What if even the experts disagree?
• How do we pick out who the experts are?
• Can lay people contribute expertise?

Students who successfully complete this subject will:

• develop an understanding of recent approaches to trust, credibility, and expertise in the social sciences and humanities.
• be able to apply these approaches to problems involving one or more of the three topics that arise in their area of professional specialisation.

• A 1,500 word essay, due at the end of week 5 (30%)
• A 3,500 word essay, due at the end of semester (70%)

Hurdle requirement:

• Students must attend a minimum of 80% of classes in order to pass this subject.

Subject readings will be available online

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.