2020y-apmodr1730c-06

AP/MODR1730 6.0 C: Reasoning About Social Issues

Offered by: MODR


 Session

Fall 2020

 Term

Y

Format

LECT

Instructor

Calendar Description / Prerequisite / Co-Requisite

This is a skills-based course focusing on critical thinking, research-based writing, and qualitative and quantitative analysis. The particular focus will be on different positions taken within the social sciences on issues such as abortion, euthanasia, pornography, immigration etc. Typical examples are to be analyzed. Course credit exclusions: AP/MODR 1760 6.00, AP/MODR 1770 6.00.


Course Start Up

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    Additional Course Instructor/Contact Details

Joshua Paul
moufawadpaul@gmail.com

    Expanded Course Description

In this course we will learn tools of critical thinking with an emphasis on applying them to various social issues. The first half of the course will concern critical thinking and ways in which good arguments functions. The tools learned in the first half will be applied to the second half where we consider numerous social issues, particularly ones that have to do with the current context.

    Required Course Text / Readings

The Power of Critical Thinking (5th Canadian Edition)
Other readings available on the Moodle site.

    Weighting of Course

Class/Homework: 20%
Midterm test: 25%
Writing Assignment: 30%
Final Exam: 25%

    Organization of the Course

First half of the course will be focused on the discipline of critical thinking as we work our way through the course text. Various homework assignments will be designed to prepare students for the mid-term. Following the mid-term, the second half of the course will focus on applying the skills learned in the first term to the material of the second term. There will be a major writing assignment and a final. Due to the pandemic teaching will be online, mainly pre-recorded with a few live sessions.

    Course Learning Objectives

To be familiar with the basics of critical thinking, including deductive and inductive reasoning. To understand that persuasion and good reasoning are not always the same. To understand the way different techniques of persuasion function in our everyday life.

    Relevant Links / Resources