2020y-apmodr1770f-06

AP/MODR1770 6.0 F: Techniques of Persuasion

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, 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

Hilary E. Davis

hdavis@yorku.ca

Virtual Office hours: by appointment on Google Hangouts or Zoom on Tuesdays between 1:00-2:30pm, EST

    Expanded Course Description

INTERNET COURSE

(100% online)

 

All required components are ASYNCHRONOUS

All synchronous components are optional

 

  • The overall purpose of this and all Modes of Reasoning (MODR) courses is to teach students to reason correctly and to express themselves clearly and precisely in verbal and written form. These critical thinking skills will help students not only with the remainder of their academic studies, but also in their professional and personal lives in general.

 

  • This course (MODR 1770) will introduce important critical thinking and analytical skills by focusing on a rhetoric, arguments, and other techniques of persuasion including political satire, propaganda, and advertising. Attention will be given to both written and visual arguments and the rhetorical appeals of logos, pathos, ethos, and kairos.  You will be asked to develop arguments that arise from your personal interests and opinions as well as criticize arguments that assess the writing of others.  Throughout the course we will analyze various media such as the news and popular press, feature films, advertising and political rhetoric, blogs and websites, as well as academic writing and philosophical arguments in this field.

 

  • Although this course focuses primarily on the development of practical critical thinking skills it will also provide brief introduction to Aristotle's views on rhetoric.

 

  • This is an approved LAPS General Education course for Humanities OR Social Science.

 

  • Course credit exclusions: AP/MODR 1730 6.00, AP/MODR 1760 6.00. This means you may not take this course for credit if you are currently enrolled in or have a credit in either MODR 1730 or MODR 1760.
    Additional Requirements

Technical requirements for taking the course:

 

To participate in the required asynchronous portions of this course, students will require a computer and/or smart device and an internet connection.  To participate in the optional synchronous Zoom webinars held weekly during our scheduled class time (Tuesdays between 1:00-2:30pm, EST), you will need a computer or smart device with webcam and microphone and a stable internet connection.  Zoom can be downloaded as an app on most smart phones.  You are not required to turn on your camera to participate in the Zoom webinars.

 

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

John D. Ramage, John C. Bean, & June Johnson.  Writing Arguments: A Rhetoric with Readings, 11th Edition.  (Pearson, 2019).

 

Michael A. Gilbert.  Arguing with People.  (Broadview, 2014).

 

Additional topical articles may be posted on Moodle

    Weighting of Course
1.      Moodle Quizzes (bi-weekly)                                                                    = 20%

 

2.      Rogerian Argument Essay                                                                          = 25%

 

3.      Collaborative Evaluative Critique Wiki                                                    = 10%

 

4.      Classical Argument Essay                                                                           = 25%

 

5.      Homework Assignments (bi-weekly)                                                     = 20%

 

6.      Total                                                                                                               100%

 

 

l  All quizzes and homework are due at 10:00am EST on Tuesdays

l  All other assignments are due at 11:59pm, EST on their respective due dates. 

l  Please note that this schedule of deadlines and grading breakdown is non-negotiable.  The value of assignments will under no circumstances be reweighed or redistributed.

 
    Organization of the Course
·         This entire course can be engaged with asynchronously as though it were an online (ONLN) course. All required elements, including lecture materials, the submission of assignments, discussion forum activities, and quizzes can be accessed on the course Moodle. Like an online course, you can learn the course material at your own pace, following the schedule of readings and activities.  That said, there are non-negotiable weekly deadlines for quizzes and homework assignments.  Assignment (essays & wiki) deadlines are also non-negotiable.

·         Weekly course material (e.g. video lectures, handouts, web links, homework, discussion forums, etc.) will be posted on Moodle by midnight on Tuesdays.

·        All modules, assignments, quizzes, homework assignments are opened weekly.  None will be opened in advance of their scheduled date.

·        All deadlines and launch times are Eastern Standard Time.

·        Optional Weekly Wrap-up Zoom webinars and virtual office hours will be held during our scheduled meeting time, Tuesdays between 11:30-12:30pm.  These Zoom sessions will not be recorded.

·        You should view the video lectures and engage with the other course material prior to the Tuesday Weekly Wrap-up Zoom webinars.  All quizzes, homework assignments, and discussion forum activities will be due at 10:00am EST on Tuesdays before the webinar.

·        I will not formally lecture during the Weekly Wrap-up Zoom webinars.  I will answer questions and we will work through practice exercises, sometimes in breakout rooms. We might also take up answers to homework and discussion forum activities.

Times and locations:

 

Please note that this is a course that depends on remote teaching and learning. There will be no in-person interactions or activities on campus.

 

This course can be taken by engaging only with the asynchronous course materials and activities which will be available on the course Moodle.  However, for a more in-depth learning experience as well as live interaction with the instructor and your classmates, optional synchronous Weekly Wrap-up Zoom webinars will be offered during the first half of our scheduled class time – Tuesdays between 11:30-12:30pm, EST.

 

Each week’s asynchronous materials and activities should be completed before Tuesday’s Zoom webinars.  Weekly quizzes, homework assignments, and forum discussion posts will be due on Tuesdays at 10:00am EST.

 

Virtual office hours:

 

Office hours will be offered by appointment on Tuesdays during the second half of our scheduled class time, between 1:00-2:30pm.  They can be scheduled for Google Hangouts (chat) or Zoom.
    Course Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, if you apply yourself, do all the reading, watch all pre-recorded lectures, and complete all assignments, activities, and quizzes, you can expect to see improvement in the following areas:

 

  • Reading Comprehension: You will become a more active reader which includes learning how to read between the lines and how to ask critical questions.
  • Writing: You will learn how to write two different types of arguments – a Rogerian Argument essay and classically structured essay.  Your essay planning, essay organization, and essay editing should also improve.
  • Critical Reasoning Skills: You will learn to identify and evaluate arguments in order to distinguish strong from weak arguments.  This will include learning how to evaluate evidence and sources used in arguments and those you use in your own research.
  • Critical Thinking Skills: Ideally, you will learn to become a 'reasonable skeptic' and become able to identify and discuss the weaknesses and strengths in claims and arguments you encounter in the media, academic texts, and everyday conversation.
    Additional Information / Notes
Course policies

 

·         The lecture slides, handouts, and all materials found on this site are for the personal use only of students who are registered in this course, MODR 1770F. They are for educational purposes only and intended only to enhance accessibility.  The instructor of this course holds the copyright to this material and does not give permission for any course material to be to duplicated, copied, and/or distributed outside of the class.  Nor do students have permission to upload course materials to commercial websites, file sharing websites or apps, or social media.  Anytime you download material from this Moodle site you agree to these terms. Any person who uploads or shares course material without the instructor's permission violates copyright regulations and also FIPPA  and will face serious consequences.

·         Students do not have permission to record and capture images from Zoom sessions – either webinars or office hours.  The Weekly Wrap-up Zoom webinars will not be recorded by the instructor.

·         Successful academic performance includes students not only completing assignments, but completing them on time. Late penalties are applied to assignments submitted after the due date. Exceptions to the late penalty can be presented to the course director by email for consideration. All essays must be uploaded to Turnitin via Moodle.

 

·         Without a valid excuse all late assignments will be penalized 10% for the first day they are late, 20% for the 2nd  day, 30% for the third day, etc….

·         An assignment will be considered late one minute past the Turnitin deadline.

·         You are strongly encouraged to avoid uploading assignments within the last hour of a deadline. If, for whatever reason, your document does not upload, it will be considered late.

·         There will be no opportunity to make-up missed bi-weekly quizzes or bi-weekly homework assignments.  If you miss these deadlines, you will receive a “0” for the assigned work. 

·         The lowest 2 marks will be dropped for both the Quizzes and the Homework. This is to say that of the 12 bi-weekly quizzes only the highest 10 will count toward your final mark and of the 12 bi-weekly homework assignments only the highest 10 will count toward your final mark.

·         No make-up work or outstanding assignments will be accepted after Tuesday, April 6th

 
    Relevant Links / Resources
Senate Policies
Academic Information and Services
Other Services for Students