How do images shape our understanding of the world? Influencers and journalists know the power of visuals: Sharing compelling videos and arresting photographs means the difference between grabbing or losing an audience's attention. Neuroscience explains "why": our brains process and assign meaning to visual input in as little as 13 milliseconds. Images therefore often bypass our logical thought and, unbeknownst to us, alter our perceptions and influence our emotions. In this course, students will fact-check and interpret visual messages in the news and on social media, consider how visuals shape their personal identities, and explore how images can threaten our democracy but also help safeguard our civil rights. Students will learn how photojournalists play a responsible and essential "watchdog" role in their communities and in so doing learn how those journalists direct their audiences to see what has been previously unseen.