AP/MODR1730 6.0 N: Reasoning About Social Issues
Offered by: MODR
Session
Winter 2021
Term
W
Format
LECT
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 Joshua Paul
moufawadpaul@gmail.com
Virtual office hours: Office hours will be virtual and over zoom, to be scheduled when needed.
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. Although the course is scheduled for 8:30 AM on Tuesdays and Thursdays, aside from 3 synchronous lectures, it will be asynchronous and available to watch at the scheduled time or anytime after.
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In this course you will be expected to learn the basic tools of critical thinking in relation to various social issues. By examining current controversies and debates, you will learn how to recognize arguments, gauge the strength of arguments, understand faulty reasoning, recognize fallacies, and other aspects of informal and formal logic. The first half of the course will focus primarily on The Power of Critical Thinking, which will cover the basics of reasoning, whereas the second half of the course will focus on a variety of social issues that will require the application of the tools learned from the first half. Aside from teaching you how to think in a clearer and systematic manner, the course will also make you aware of various social issues that you might not have considered before, hopefully teaching you how to engage with topics with which you might disagree in a sober and critical manner. The eClass site will provide lectures, a space to submit assignments, readings for the second half of the course, and updates. The course will be largely asynchronous, with recorded lectures being available when the course is scheduled, but there will be a few synchronous meetings including the first one. The latter will take place during scheduled class time.
Homework and assignments will be submitted through Turnitin on the eClass website. Students must be familiar with using Turnitin.
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Technical requirements for taking the course: Since this is going to be an online largely asynchronous course due to the pandemic, students will be expected to have computers that can access zoom and eClass without crashing. There will be a few synchronous classes, so in those cases students should have access to a working microphone.
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.
1) The Power of Critical Thinking (5th edition) by Chris MacDonald and Lewis Vaughn
2) Contemporary readings (will be made available on eClass)
Homework: 20%
Mid-term Test: 25%
Final : 25%
Essay Assignment: 30%
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. Although the course is scheduled for 8:30 AM on Tuesdays and Thursdays, aside from 3 synchronous lectures, it will be asynchronous and available to watch at the scheduled time or anytime after.
To be familiar with critical thinking and how to apply it to a number of relevant social issues.
- 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
