Information Package / Course Catalogue
| Political Science and International Relations | |||||
| Bachelor | Length of the Programme: 4 | Number of Credits: 240 | TR-NQF-HE: Level 6 | QF-EHEA: First Cycle | EQF: Level 6 |
Ders Genel Tanıtım Bilgileri
| School/Faculty/Institute | Faculty of Econ., Admin. and Social Sciences | ||||
| Course Code | POLS 336 | ||||
| Course Title in English | Critical Thinking | ||||
| Course Title in Turkish | Critical Thinking | ||||
| Language of Instruction | EN | ||||
| Type of Course | Flipped Classroom | ||||
| Level of Course | Select | ||||
| Semester | Fall | ||||
| Contact Hours per Week |
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| Estimated Student Workload | 120 hours per semester | ||||
| Number of Credits | 5 ECTS | ||||
| Grading Mode | Standard Letter Grade | ||||
| Pre-requisites | None | ||||
| Expected Prior Knowledge | None | ||||
| Co-requisites | None | ||||
| Registration Restrictions | Only Undergraduate Students | ||||
| Overall Educational Objective | To enable students to evaluate strengths and weaknesses of reasoning in arguments | ||||
| Course Description | This course aims at clarifying students’ thinking patterns; making them aware of common fallacies and helping them detect poor reasoning and construct stronger arguments. After a brief introduction to the nature of critical thinking and analyzing arguments, the bulk of the course is devoted to analyzing fallacies. Towards the end of the course, we look into the differences between ethical, religious, aesthetic, legal, scientific and pseudo-scientific reasoning. | ||||
| Course Description in Turkish | Bu ders öğrencilerin düşünce örüntülerini netleştirmelerini amaçlar; sık yapılan mantık hatalarını fark etmelerini, zayıf akıl yürütmeleri saptamalarını ve daha güçlü argümanlar kurmalarını sağlar. Eleştirel düşüncenin doğası ve argüman analizleri üzerine kısa bir girişten sonra, ders safsataları analiz etme üzerine yoğunlaşır. Dersin son haftalarında ahlaki, dini, estetik, yasal, bilimsel ve sahte-bilimsel akıl yürütmeler arasındaki farklar incelenecektir. |
Course Learning Outcomes and CompetencesUpon successful completion of the course, the learner is expected to be able to:1) Identify fallacies 2) Distinguish strong (valid) reasoning from poor (invalid) reasoning; argument from demagogy 3) Analyze the differences between moral, religious, aesthetic, scientific and pseudo-scientific reasoning 4) Construct stronger arguments |
| Program Learning Outcomes/Course Learning Outcomes | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1) Adequate knowledge of political history necessary to comprehend and effectively evaluate contemporary Political Science and International Relations issues. | ||||
| 2) Understanding of the fundamental concepts that exist in the fields of social and behavioral sciences as well as the correlation between these concepts | ||||
| 3) Ability to analyze the fundamental theories in the field Political Science and International Relations and to assess their reflections into practice | ||||
| 4) Ability to critically discuss different aspects of theories and developments in Political Science and International Relations both individually and in the course of group work during classroom discussions. | ||||
| 5) Ability to conduct research independently, or with a team, about the developments taking place in the international arena, make foreign policy analyses, develop research-based conflict resolution models, and prepare comprehensive reports using computers and relevant software | ||||
| 6) Ability to take decisions as well as to implement these decisions by using the knowledge about the field and the skills that have been acquired during the undergraduate studies | ||||
| 7) Ability to recognize the relations between scientific thought and ethical behavior; pay attention to being tolerant and properly defend different ideas, ideologies and belief systems | ||||
| 8) Ability to work in international institutions and multicultural environments, with the help of the knowledge on different cultures, societies, political systems as well as linguistic skills acquired during the undergraduate studies | ||||
| 9) Ability to display language skills in English at minimum B2 level enough for debating with colleagues on issues of Political Science and International Relations, and also display language skills in a second foreign language at minimum A2 level enough for communicating in daily life | ||||
| 10) Ability to pursue lifelong learning as well as perform advanced/graduate studies in the field Political Science and International Relations and other social sciences disciplines in academic institutions at home and abroad |
Relation to Program Outcomes and Competences
| N None | S Supportive | H Highly Related |
| Program Outcomes and Competences | Level | Assessed by | |
| 1) | Adequate knowledge of political history necessary to comprehend and effectively evaluate contemporary Political Science and International Relations issues. | N | |
| 2) | Understanding of the fundamental concepts that exist in the fields of social and behavioral sciences as well as the correlation between these concepts | N | |
| 3) | Ability to analyze the fundamental theories in the field Political Science and International Relations and to assess their reflections into practice | S | Exam |
| 4) | Ability to critically discuss different aspects of theories and developments in Political Science and International Relations both individually and in the course of group work during classroom discussions. | S | Exam |
| 5) | Ability to conduct research independently, or with a team, about the developments taking place in the international arena, make foreign policy analyses, develop research-based conflict resolution models, and prepare comprehensive reports using computers and relevant software | N | |
| 6) | Ability to take decisions as well as to implement these decisions by using the knowledge about the field and the skills that have been acquired during the undergraduate studies | N | |
| 7) | Ability to recognize the relations between scientific thought and ethical behavior; pay attention to being tolerant and properly defend different ideas, ideologies and belief systems | H | Participation |
| 8) | Ability to work in international institutions and multicultural environments, with the help of the knowledge on different cultures, societies, political systems as well as linguistic skills acquired during the undergraduate studies | H | HW |
| 9) | Ability to display language skills in English at minimum B2 level enough for debating with colleagues on issues of Political Science and International Relations, and also display language skills in a second foreign language at minimum A2 level enough for communicating in daily life | H | Presentation |
| 10) | Ability to pursue lifelong learning as well as perform advanced/graduate studies in the field Political Science and International Relations and other social sciences disciplines in academic institutions at home and abroad | H | Participation |
| Prepared by and Date | BAŞAK KEKİ , January 2024 |
| Course Coordinator | CANSU GÜLEÇ |
| Semester | Fall |
| Name of Instructor | Öğr. Gör. BAŞAK KEKİ |
Course Contents
| Week | Subject |
| 1) | Introduction to the course |
| 2) | Introduction to critical thinking |
| 3) | Making sense of arguments |
| 4) | Persuasion through rhetoric |
| 5) | Psychological fallacies |
| 6) | Fallacies of relevance and defective induction |
| 7) | Fallacies of presumption and ambiguity |
| 8) | Causal explanation |
| 9) | Irrational tendencies: egocentrism and rationality |
| 10) | Irrational tendencies: sociocentrism and rationality |
| 11) | Religious reasoning |
| 12) | Moral, legal and aesthetic reasoning |
| 13) | Science and pseudo-science |
| 14) | Thinking critically about media |
| 15) | Examination Period |
| 16) | Examination Period |
| Required/Recommended Readings | The coursepack will include excerpts from the following: Bassham, Gregory & William Irwin & Henry Nardone & James M. Wallace. Critical Thinking: A Student’s Introduction, (New York: McGraw Hill, 2013). Burns, Elizabeth and Stephen Law. Philosophy for AS and A2, (London: Routledge, 2004). Cohen, Carl & Irving M. Copi. Introduction to Logic, (New Jersey: Pearson, 2005). Elder, Linda & Richard Paul. Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Professional and Personal Life, (New Jersey: Pearson, 2014). Moore, Brooke Noel & Richard Parker. Critical Thinking, (New York: McGraw Hill, 2012). | ||||||||||||||||||
| Teaching Methods | Flipped Learning technology – Perusall (texts will be uploaded pre-class with questions) -, in-class discussions, presentations, response papers | ||||||||||||||||||
| Homework and Projects | |||||||||||||||||||
| Laboratory Work | None | ||||||||||||||||||
| Computer Use | None | ||||||||||||||||||
| Other Activities | None | ||||||||||||||||||
| Assessment Methods |
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| Course Administration |
Email: kekib@mef.edu.tr Attendance and active participation are required. There would be no late presentations and late assignments medical report provided. MEF university values academic integrity. Therefore all students must understand the meaning and consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences under the code of student conduct and disciplinary procedures. Any improper behavior, academic dishonesty or plagiarism is subject to the YÖK Disciplinary Regulation. |
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ECTS Student Workload Estimation
| Activity | No/Weeks | Hours | Calculation | ||||
| No/Weeks per Semester | Preparing for the Activity | Spent in the Activity Itself | Completing the Activity Requirements | ||||
| Course Hours | 14 | 3 | 3 | 84 | |||
| Presentations / Seminar | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | |||
| Homework Assignments | 14 | 1 | 1 | 28 | |||
| Paper Submission | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |||
| Total Workload | 120 | ||||||
| Total Workload/25 | 4.8 | ||||||
| ECTS | 5 | ||||||