Privacy

The Persona Project: Adopt a radically different persona and go to a public place where you are relatively anonymous in the guise of an alternate identity. For example, wear an outfit, makeup, or hair style that you would never ordinarily wear, talk in a way that is different from your ordinary way of talking, make conversation/interact with people in a way that is not your usual way of talking to people. Pretend that you are studying abroad somewhere and no one knows you. From this experience, reflect on the extent that your current self-presentation is strategic and consider how and whether you are currently benefiting from this mode of self-presentation. 

Evidence:  Include a selfie of you at the anonymous place.  

Write an anonymous postcard to PostSecret revealing a genuine secret that you have never publicly shared. It doesn't need to be a big deal. The secret can be ordinary and not at all dramatic or shameful. It may involve regret, fear, hope, embarrassment, gratitude, or just something silly and random you have never said aloud. Mail the postcard. In your reflection, discuss why you chose this secret rather than another. Did anonymity make disclosure easier? Does telling a secret to strangers count as genuine self-disclosure? Why do secrets have moral significance?

Evidence: Include a photograph of your completed postcard before mailing it.

*note: consider that I will report concerning info to the student deans. 

Choose someone you trust and hand them your unlocked phone and tell them they may look through anything they wish for five minutes. They may not send messages, delete files, purchase anything, or impersonate you. Before they begin, predict what they will find most interesting. Afterward, have them write down three facts they learned from your phone. Ask them if there were any surprises, what they looked at first, and what they learned from the activity. 

In your reflection, discuss what your phone reveals about your character. Is digital privacy different from physical privacy? Did you feel exposed even if you had "nothing to hide"?

*  Do not expose private information belonging to other people. If your phone contains confidential communications, work information, pictures of other people, private medical records, or anything that would violate someone else's privacy, those portions should remain off-limits.