Course Instructor Contact: Dr. Jonathan Short; jshort@yorku.ca

Office hours: Office Hours will be held using Zoom or by appointment in person each week. I will post the invitation link on Eclass for these appointments. Physical office and time: SR 401, Tuesdays at 5.30pm.

Technical requirements for taking the course:

This is a blended course. That means that while there is some in-person interaction, you will access the bulk of course material online. Because of this, you need to have reliable internet access (preferably high speed internet). Also, you need a device capable of accessing the internet, such as a laptop or smart phone.

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

Times and locations: This course is scheduled for in-person classes once per week. The meeting time and location is as follows: Tuesdays 7-10pm at DB 1016.

First Term: Critical Thinking: Argument and Argumentation. 2014. 2nd Edition. Authors: Jean Saindon and Peter John Krek. ISBN: 978-0-17-666100-7. Publisher: Nelson Education.

A selection of shorter texts and film/video works will be made available on E-class in pdf format or with appropriate links to library sources.

1. Lecture Participation Assignment (LPA) Exercises: Due as indicated on E-class throughout the course: Weight: 20%
2. Argument Quiz:   Weight: 15%, January 31
3. Fallacies & Non-Deductive Arguments Test: Weight: 20%, February 28
4. Passage Analysis Assignment: Weight: 25%, March 14
5. Take-Home Test Weight 20%, April 4

While the lectures of this course will be available on-line, many of its components, including the submission of some assignments for participation, will happen on the course’s E-class site but completed during scheduled class time. Attendance in class is therefore very important for your overall success in this course.

Because this is a skills-based course, the material will be made available in a sequential “week-by-week” format. That means you will not be able to jump around in the material, but must learn it in a particular order. The course lecture slides and other material will be posted the week we cover material and you will not have access to most material in advance of covering it in the course.

This course is skills-based, meaning that it is less focussed on what you know than on how you know or what to do. In this course you will expand your ability to think critically, to formulate a cogent, logical, and coherent argument, and to spot the flaws in the arguments and claims of others. It will help you to live in our society with a sceptical and critical mind. You will also learn to express your ideas in writing in a logically consistent form. Finally, the course will teach you some of the approaches used by advertisers and other prominent social institutions in trying to persuade people by non-rational means. In learning about these approaches, the goal will be to enable you to better understand these so that you can better apply the techniques of critical thinking examined in the first part of the course.

Grading:

The grading scheme for the course conforms to the 9-point grading system used in undergraduate programs at York (e.g., A+ = 9, A = 8, B+ - 7, C+ = 5, etc.).  Assignments and tests* will bear either a letter grade designation or a corresponding number grade (e.g.  A+ = 90 to 100, A = 80 to 90, B+ = 75 to 79, etc.)

(For a full description of York grading system see the York University Undergraduate Calendar - http://calendars.registrar.yorku.ca/2010-2011/academic/index.htm

Students may take a limited number of courses for degree credit on an ungraded (pass/fail) basis. For full information on this option see Alternative Grading Option in the LA&PS section of the Undergraduate Calendar.

Assignment Submission: Proper academic performance depends on students doing their work not only well, but on time.  Accordingly, assignments for this course must be received on the due date specified for the assignment.  Assignments are to be handed in on the Eclass site for this course in the drop-boxes indicated. After the due date the system will not let you upload assignments. You must contact me to get permission to submit late assignments.

Please Note that it is not possible to submit the LPA assignments late. They are designed to test your level of participation in the course and must be completed during class time each week. If you do not keep up with them you cannot hand them in later; please don’t ask me to extend the deadline since this will not be done.

Lateness Penalty: Assignments received later than the due date will be penalized 2% per day that the assignment is late. Exceptions to the lateness penalty for valid reasons such as illness, compassionate grounds, etc., may be permitted by the Course Instructor but will require supporting documentation (e.g., a doctor’s letter). Students who have recognized accommodation from the Accessible Learning Centre at York that permits it will be given extra time to complete tests and assignments as appropriate and do not have to contact me to request this extra time (it will be granted automatically by the Accessible Learning Centre once you are approved for academic accommodation)

Missed Tests: Students with a documented reason for missing a course test, such as illness, compassionate grounds, etc., which is confirmed by supporting documentation (e.g., doctor’s letter) may request accommodation from the Course Director. Students will be permitted to write a test after the official cut-off date for the test or assignment. Further extensions or accommodation will require students to submit a formal petition to the Department and/or Faculty.

Recording Policy: The content of this course is delivered through live lectures which remain the intellectual property (IP) of the Course Instructor. If you wish to record these lectures for your own personal use, you must secure permission from the instructor. I will give permission to record to students who have accommodation from the Accessible Learning Centre when this is part of their accommodation; if this is the case, please present me with your accommodation documentation.

Any recording of lectures for commercial purposes or to share with others is a violation of York’s Academic Honesty Guidelines as well as a violation of the instructor’s legal IP (intellectual property) rights and is prohibited by law. It is also prohibited to upload any course materials to online study sites, commercial or otherwise, such as Course Hero. Any violators will be subject to academic sanction as appropriate.