2020f-apmodr1770a-06

AP/MODR1770 6.0 A: Techniques of Persuasion

Offered by: MODR


 Session

Fall 2020

 Term

F

Format

BLEN (Blended online and classroom)

Instructor

Calendar Description / Prerequisite / Co-Requisite

This is a skills-based course focusing on critical thinking, persuasive writing, and strategic argumentation. Examples are drawn from various forms of persuasion including advertising, propaganda and political argument. Course credit exclusions: AP/MODR 1730 6.00, AP/MODR 1760 6.00. Note: This is an approved LA&PS General Education course: Humanities OR Social Science.


Course Start Up

Course Websites hosted on York's "eClass" are accessible to students during the first week of the term. It takes two business days from the time of your enrolment to access your course website. Course materials begin to be released on the course website during the first week. To log in to your eClass course visit the York U eClass Portal and login with your Student Passport York Account. If you are creating and participating in Zoom meetings you may also go directly to the York U Zoom Portal.

For further course Start Up details, review the Getting Started webpage.

For IT support, students may contact University Information Technology Client Services via askit@yorku.ca or (416) 736-5800. Please also visit Students Getting Started UIT or the Getting Help - UIT webpages.


    Additional Course Instructor/Contact Details

Professor Linda Carozza

lcarozza@yorku.ca

Virtual office hours: Zoom or the Moodle Chat function will be used for virtual office hours. Further information will be made available in the full syllabus on Moodle.

    Expanded Course Description

Times and locations: This is an online course - all lectures, tasks, assignments, and meetings will be held online through the course Moodle site. To be as accessible as possible, this course does not require you to log on and complete tasks and assignments and lectures at specific times. It is an ASYNCHRONOUS course - you can choose when to log on to keep up with weekly material. You must log on frequently to keep up with this accelerated course. Weekly content will be made available on Tuesdays. All deadlines fall on Tuesdays. (Optional) webinars will be facilitated on Tuesdays as well. Please note that there will be no in-person interactions or activities on campus.

Expanded Course Description:

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.).

 

Students should leave this course with theoretical knowledge, practical skills (listed below), and general awareness about persuasion tactics used within our culture.

    Additional Requirements

Technical requirements for taking the course: A higher internet speed is important to stream lecture material. In order to fully participate in this course students should have access to electronic devices that have video and microphone access. There will be opportunities to have live Q & A sessions, webinars, and office hours through Zoom.

 

Here are some useful links for student computing information, resources and help:

Student Guide to Moodle

Zoom@YorkU Best Practices 

Zoom@YorkU User Reference Guide

Computing for Students Website

Student Guide to eLearning at York University

 

To determine Internet connection and speed, there are online tests, such as Speedtest, that can be run.]

    Required Course Text / Readings

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

Note: It needs to be the 5th edition.

Writing Philosophy by Vaughn & McIntosh

The 1st or 2nd edition are similar; it doesn’t matter which you access.

All other material will be provided on Moodle.

    Weighting of Course

Participation – 10%

Quizzes – 25%

Argumentative Writing Assignment – 20%

Fallacy Assignment – 15%

Critical Essay – 30%

 

More specific information about assignments will be provided in the syllabus on Moodle.

    Organization of the Course

Weekly course material (e.g. video lectures, handouts, web links, discussion forums, etc.) will be posted online on Tuesdays. 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 Tuesday 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.

    Course Learning Objectives
  • Reading Comprehension
    • active reading; deconstructing others’ ideas; reading between the lines; deciphering unclear language
  • 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 argumentative communication
  • Critical Reasoning Skills
    • Summarizing/diagramming arguments; evaluating arguments for cogency; detecting and analyzing fallacious arguing; 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
    Additional Information / Notes
 

Course policies

Submitting assignments on time

•     Expected academic performance includes students not only completing assignments, but completing them on time. We find ourselves in unprecedented times though, so please see adapted policies below.

•     If you miss a quiz, for which you have 7 days to complete, you earn a zero grade. There will be a bonus quiz in weeks 1 and 12 to replace any low or missed grades. This means you have 7 chances to write 5 quizzes.

•     If you don’t participate during the required week, you don’t earn participation grades. There will be bonus participation opportunities in weeks 1 and 12 to replace any missed participation opportunities. This means you have 7 chances to meet 5 participation requirements.

•     There will be no late penalty for submitting an assignment late. Rather, you’ll have a window of time after the deadline where you can submit an assignment (you just won’t receive feedback from the instructor). If you submit after this extended window of time, then you will earn a pass/fail mark on really late assignments. These policies apply to the argumentative letter, fallacy assignment, and final essay. Review each assignment’s instructions for relevant deadlines.

 

To be successful in this course

•     You must log on to Moodle frequently

•     You should be completing coursework every week

•     You should be taking notes when you review video lectures - always

•     You should be taking notes when you read the course material - always

•     Critical Thinking and Reasoning requires practice. The textbooks have chapter exercises that you should be answering in order to hone your skills.

•     For an updated and helpful website with tips and tools, for writing, time management, and other necessary tools and skills for university success, see:                         http://www.yorku.ca/spark/

•     Take care of yourself. Balancing the academic, professional, family, personal, and other aspects of your life can be challenging at the best of times. Aim to create some balance in your life. You want to be healthy and rested when you tackle a full year course in half the time, remotely.

 

Regarding lecture content (e.g. videos, documents, etc.): students do not have

permission to duplicate, copy, and/or distribute content outside of the class. Doing so

violates copyright laws.

Regarding synchronous Zoom recordings: students do not have permission to

duplicate, copy, and/or distribute the recordings outside of the class. These acts

can violate not only copyright laws but also FIPPA. All synchronous webinar

recordings will be destroyed after the end of classes.

 

    Relevant Links / Resources