AP/MODR1730 6.0 H: 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
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.
Professor Linda Carozza
carozza@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.
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 Wednesdays. All deadlines fall on Wednesdays. (Optional) webinars will be facilitated on Wednesdays 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.
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:
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.]
Good Reasoning Matters (5th Ed.), by Groarke & Tindale
Note: It needs to be the 5th edition.
Is that a fact? (2nd Ed.), by Battersby
All other material will be provided on Moodle.
Participation – 20%
Quizzes – 25%
Debate Assignment – 15%
Inquiry Assignment – 15%
Critical Essay – 25%
More specific information about assignments will be provided in the syllabus on Moodle.
Weekly course material (e.g. video lectures, handouts, web links, discussion forums, etc.) will be posted online on Wednesdays. 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. There is an emphasis on continuous engagement in the course.
- 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 quantitative and qualitative evidence for arguments
- 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
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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 12 opportunities to participate – the best 10 will be used to formulate your participation grade. • 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 debate assignment, inquiry assignment, and critical essay. Each assignment’s instructions will have specific details.
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.
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- Academic Honesty
- Student Rights and Responsibilities
- Religious Observance
- Grading Scheme and Feedback
- 20% Rule
No examinations or tests collectively worth more than 20% of the final grade in a course will be given during the final 14 calendar days of classes in a term. The exceptions to the rule are classes which regularly meet Friday evenings or on Saturday and/or Sunday at any time, and courses offered in the compressed summer terms. - Academic Accommodation for Students with Disabilities
