University of Alberta introduces course to help students combat 'rage bait'
The University of Alberta is offering a new course designed to help students cut through “rage bait” in an era increasingly shaped by outrage-driven content.
The course, Engaging Division: Consensus and Confrontation in Civic Life, will be offered across campus through the Peter Lougheed School of Politics and Democracy. It focuses on teaching students how to spot misinformation, understand group dynamics that drive conflict, and navigate difficult conversations without exploiting emotions.
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The timing wasn’t an accident. As 2025 wrapped up, Oxford University Press named “rage bait” as its word of the year, noting its use had tripled over the previous 12 months, a sign that more people were becoming aware of how they were being manipulated online through outrage.
“With a lot of the issues and complex challenges we face in our society at the moment ā whether something like the energy transition or dealing with the drug-overdose crisis ā we tend to react with one position over another,” said Pieter de Vos, course instructor.
De Vos is an adjunct professor in the U of A’s School of Public Health with a background in facilitation, negotiation and community engagement.
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Co-designed by political science professor Jared Wesley, the course will examine a range of approaches to conflict, from finding common ground to understanding when opposition is unavoidable. Students will also explore the psychology behind polarization and groupthink, while reflecting on their own cognitive biases.
“Even at the best of times, humans are vulnerable to a whole series of biases,” de Vos said. “Part of the work is creating space for humility.”
The course outlines five core practices for what de Vos calls “conflict-intelligent leadership,” including understanding personal conflict patterns, separating facts from emotion and identity, listening for underlying needs and values, focusing on process rather than persuasion, and treating conflict as an opportunity for learning.
De Vos said the course won’t change the broader political climate on its own, but it can help better equip students to navigate the environments they’ll encounter.
“We may not be able to shift the cultural winds,” he said. “But we can help future leaders recognize the terrain they’re moving into ā and learn how to move through it more thoughtfully.”