Linda Carozza

lcarozza@yorku.ca

Office Location:  S401 Ross

Phone Number:  (416) 736-2100 Ext. 66449

Office Hours:  By appointment only

The general purpose of all the Modes of Reasoning courses (MODR) is to equip students with critical thinking and reasoning skills, which are invaluable to academic studies, a professional career, and life generally.

This course is an introduction to a series of reasoning skills, concepts, and techniques from a multidisciplinary stance. With content from the fields of philosophy, psychology, sociology, and conflict resolution, students are guided to: read or listen to others' ideas with an engaged mind; think critically about those ideas; develop strong arguments and ideas of one's own; and, verbalize those ideas clearly and concisely, orally and in writing. We apply various theories and skills to the analysis of timely arguments in popular science, the legal realm, politics, and ethics (to name a few), that are found in the mass media (e.g. newspaper columns, blogs, advertisements, social media, documentary films, Ted Talks, etc.).

Good Reasoning Matters! (5^th Ed.) by Groarke & Tindale

Participation – 10%

Quizzes – 25%

Argument Letter – 20%

Fallacy Presentation – 15%

Critical Essay – 30%

Weekly course material (e.g. video lectures, handouts, web links, discussion forums, etc.) will be posted online on Wednesdays. Remember, this is an accelerated course. If you took this course on campus, then you would be required to attend two 3-hour lectures weekly. The content displayed each Wednesday reflects this time commitment. This is an asynchronous course - you don’t have to log in to Moodle at a specific time each week, but you do need to keep up on days/times weekly that are convenient for you. Here’s why: Techniques of Persuasion is a practical course. To become strong at any skill, practice is needed. Accordingly, there is an emphasis on continuous engagement in the course. If you are planning a vacation, work full time, or will be engaged in any other events this summer that prevent you from logging onto Moodle weekly, you are strongly urged to rethink whether you should enrol in a SU-term course.

• Reading Comprehension
  • active reading; deconstructing others’ ideas; reading between the lines
• Critical Thinking Skills
  • critically evaluating what we hear and read; rational decision-making; being aware of cognitive and illegitimate biases (self bias and others’ bias); understanding the environment that surrounds communication
• Critical Reasoning Skills
  • analyzing arguments for cogency; presenting strong arguments
• Awareness of Persuasion Techniques
  • recognizing manipulative persuasion; developing persuasive tactics, ethically
• Writing Skills
  • improve general writing skills (grammar, writing style, thesis development, etc.); essay organization; writing persuasively; improving self-editing techniques
• Personal Development
  • hone the disposition of a competent layperson (the ability to engage in civil discourse, even if one isn’t an “expert” on that topic); clarity and confidence when presenting views