AP/MODR1730 6.0 G: Reasoning About Social Issues
Offered by: MODR
Session
Fall 2022
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 UIT Student Services or the Getting Help - UIT webpages.
Course Instructor: David Stamos at dstamos@yorku.ca
This is a skills-based course which focuses on skills that are essential for most of your university courses (and consequently can be expected to raise your grades in those courses). Specifically this means: conceptual analysis, fallacy analysis, argument structure analysis, premise analysis, essay style.
1) S. Morris Engel (2000). With Good Reason. 6th edition. Bedford/St. Martin’s. ISBN 978-1457695957
https://store.macmillanlearning.com/ca/product/With-Good-Reason/p/0312157584?searchText=Engel. There is a pdf version of this out there somewhere.
2) Chris MacDonald and Lewis Vaughn (2016). The Power of Critical Thinking. 4th Cdn. edition. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-901868-0.
OR: Chopped ed. ISBN 978-0-19-901536-8 (this one saves you money!). Available in
the bookstore as: York University Custom Edition: The Power of Critical Thinking. Chris
MacDonald and Lewis Vaughn. (Make sure you buy the red edition for this course.) This
will also be available as an e-book.
Conceptual Analysis Assignment (20%) – midway in the fall semester
Fallacy Test (15%) – at the end of the fall semester, and it’s open book/notes
Passage Analysis Assignment (20%) – roughly mid-way in the winter semester
Article Analysis Assignment (25%) – at the end of the winter semester
Participation (20%) – based on classroom attendance and weekly homework (each of which is short and graded exclusively on completeness not on quality)
This is an in-class course. When you register for this course, it’s for a three-hour time slot. The tutorial is included in that (so you don’t register for a tutorial). Some of our classes will have more time spent on teaching, while others will have more time spent on taking up homework and on classroom discussion.
Moodle is used for this course for posting announcements, skeleton notes for the entire course, pdfs, and grades.
The ability to apply to other courses the knowledge and skills learned/acquired in this course.
As this is a primarily skills-based course, not a primarily knowledge-based course, much of our class time is spent on applications, practice, and discussing homework. This is why the Participation grade, which is based exclusively on attendance and homework, is 20%. Consequently it is very easy to get 20/20 for this portion of the course, and to get 0/20 if you treat don’t come to class and don’t submit homework. You therefore need to be able to commit yourself to attending class. If you cannot do this, you should take this course at some other time (but you should take this course), the earlier the better
- 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