AP/MODR1770 6.0 P: Techniques of Persuasion
Offered by: MODR
Session
Winter 2024
Term
W
Format
ONLN (Fully Online)
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.
Course Instructor Contact: Lcarozza@yorku.ca
Virtual office hours: Zoom will be used for virtual office hours. Further information will be made available in eClass.
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: You will need to access eClass multiple times weekly throughout the term. This will require a higher-speed Internet connection. In addition, for webinars, extra workshops, and virtual office hours you will need a computer with a webcam and microphone, and/or a smart device with these features.
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.]
Required Course Text / Readings: All required readings will be provided, free of charge, on the course site.
Participation – 15%
Quizzes – 25%
Argumentative Writing Assignment – 25%
Critical Analysis Project (this multi-part assignment involves team work) – 35%
More specific information about assignments will be provided in eClass.
Times and locations: This is an asynchronous ONLINE course. There will be no in-person interactions or activities on campus. You do not have to attend virtual lectures. However, there will be bi-weekly webinars held on Tuesdays (times will very depending on student interest).
| Organization of the course
Please understand before enrolling in this course: it is ACCELERATED. This means that it is completed in half the time as a regular 6-credit course. The weekly work load will reflect this.
This is an online course - all lectures, tasks, assignments, and meetings will be held online through the course eClass site. To be as accessible as possible, this course does not require you to log on and complete tasks and assignments 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. However, there will be bi- weekly webinars (Tuesdays) that run one hour in length, and it would be helpful to attend these as often as possible.
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| This course also relies on COLLABORATIVE team work. If you prefer to work independently, you should enrol in a different section of MODR 1770.
· The course will go live on Monday, January 8. Log in to e-Class for the detailed syllabus, schedule, and other documents, etc. on this date. · Weekly content will be made available on e-Class Tuesday afternoons: January 9, 16, 23, 30, February 6, 13, 27, March 5, 12, 19, 26, and April 2. · Webinars will be facilitated every other Tuesday – times will very. While these are not mandatory, you are encouraged to attend these webinars on January 9 (at noon), 23, February 6, 27, March 12, 26. · All deadlines fall on Tuesdays at NOON (participation, quizzes, and other assignments). Note: There are no midnight deadlines in this course.
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Course Learning Objectives:
Weighting of Course: Participation – 15% Quizzes – 25% Argumentative Writing Assignment – 25% Critical Analysis Project (this multi-part assignment involves team work) – 35%
More specific information about assignments will be provided in eClass.
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Course policies
- You must log on to eClass frequently (work schedules or vacations are not valid excuses to skip weeks on eClass)
- You should be completing coursework every week
- You should be taking your own notes when you review lecture material - always
- You should be taking your own 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: when webinars are recorded, students do 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.
- 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
