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SYLLABUS
Communicating Bullshit (CMS 498, Online)
Fall, 2017
Word Cloud of Syllabus
Lenny Shedletsky
mailto:
207-780-5437 (office)
What the course is about:
This seminar explores the concept ‘bullshit’. It asks what does the concept ‘bullshit’ mean to people, how do we decide that something is bullshit, has there been empirical research on bullshit, and what sorts of questions can we ask about bullshit that we can empirically study? There is reason to believe that ‘bullshit’ is an important concept, with connections to far-reaching, important parts of our lives, open to empirical study.
Dr. Laura Penny writes in her book, Your Call is Important to Us: The Truth about Bullshit, “. . . bullshit is not just a phenomenon but an industry—one of the growth industries of the information age, in fact” (p. 3).Required Text:
Hardcastle, G. L. and Reisch, G. A. (2006). Bullshit and Philosophy: Guaranteed to Get Perfect Results Every Time. Chicago, Illinois: Open Court.
Let me know of errors in the course website.
This is a first run of the course, so very likely there are some errors in materials. Please send me an email [mailto:] when you spot an error –and tell me exactly where it is—and I will correct it quickly if I can.
A WORD TO THE WISE:
To do your best work in this course, you need to get right on it (even get started before the course begins) and set your mind to working hard for this course. You cannot treat this as something you knock off on a Sunday afternoon if you hope to get anything out of this course and to do well at it.
Course Goals and Learning Objectives
1. To describe and understand a framework for thinking about ‘bullshit’;
2. To learn some specific concepts/ideas to have a conceptual map of the field;
3. To develop the ability to apply theory to cases;
4. To experience contributing to a discussion by learning material well enough to lead others through it;
5. To experience contributing to a seminar by learning to participate in discussion;
6. To write analyses of questions;
What We’ll Do:
My approach to academic work is to try my best to take on questions that interest me and that I genuinely think through. My teaching style is to share that same attitude with you. By that I mean that I see us working through questions together, all of us, including me. Another way of putting this is to say that I don’t start with a body of information that is etched in stone and that I pass on to you. I would like for you and me to feel that we can be our selves as we think through questions like, “What does bullshit mean?” What does bullshit mean to people? What has been said about it in the literature and what empirical research can be done on bullshit?
We’ll proceed in two ways: (1) by reading and discussing what researchers/theorists have had to say; (2) and by doing individual library research on a issue germane to the concept ‘bullshit’ for a final paper in the course.
Seminar Format:
The course will run in a seminar format in which the level of participation must be high, both in discussion of texts and facilitation of discussions. So let me explain what I mean by facilitation of discussions.
Grading Seminar Discussion
A seminar is a special kind of format for coming together to learn. The essence of the work to do at a seminar is to probe the text deeply with the intention of clarifying and understanding ideas. To my thinking, a seminar is about discussion of a common text. If people show up for a seminar without having read the text or unwilling or unable to talk about the text, then the seminar is seriously handicapped. One way to inspire thinking and expression of thoughts may be for you to know that I will not grade you on what you say at our meetings. Instead I am asking you to grade yourself. At the end of the course, I ask you to suggest your grade for participation in discussions. I take final responsibility for this grade and will not go along with an outlandish suggestion, but if at all possible, I will honor your recommendation. So, feel free to participate and meet your standards and your goals. (Participation is 30% of the final Grade.) It is important for you to know that you will be assigned to two dates when we meet synchronously (live) and you facilitate the discussion. I will not be able to rearrange these dates, because there is no room in the schedule to move people into slots. As a participant, I can offer some leeway by allowing for up to two synchronous meetings when you as a participant miss the session. For these meetings, you are required to write on our Discussion Board well thought out comments after viewing the recording of the live session that you missed.
Ideally, we will engage one another in controversial topics related to the text, related to classroom discussion, related to course requirements. There certainly is nothing wrong with chatting about other matters if you like, and related matters (to build our relationships), but what is of concern to the course is your discussion of ideas. I will put questions on our Discussion Board or VoiceThread for all the members of the seminar; so please log on to the computer at least every few daysso that you can stay in the discussion. Please respond to the questions there. You will also be asked to initiate discussion when you facilitate or when you respond.
I am not concerned about getting through all the material at each meeting. If we get an interesting discussion going, I will go with that. So, prepare for each week with whatever needs to be read and thought about, and we will try to dig in when we meet, learn, and enjoy the time together--ideally.
Grading
Assignment / Percentage / Due DateSeminar Participation (self-graded) / 30%
Theory Paper: A Question about Bullshit
- written (5-12 typed, double spaced pages
- facilitation - self graded / 20%
10% / Sunday, midnight, end of Week 4
Theory/Research Paper
- written (15-20 typed, double spaced pages)- facilitation - self graded / 30%
10% / Sunday, midnight, end of Week 12
Papers will be used to facilitate discussion at the seminar during meetings 4-11, inclusive: You will facilitate discussion during the meeting you are assigned to.
For the first paper, select one question that you wish to ask and pursue an answer to by reading what is available. For instance, you might ask about bull sessions, academic bullshit, corporate bullshit or a more specific question.You will need to use the library/Internet [try to focus on scholarly articles of the kind you find in the online library as opposed to Internet search engines] to find original and secondary sources, books and/or journal articles describing and commenting on the issue. Use APA Style for citing sources. Your job is to read and digest this material so that you can translate it into clear terms for the rest of us. We need to know in as precise and clear language as possible, just what is the literature saying. Make use of examples where that is helpful in explaining the ideas. Make use of critical comments about the ideas if that applies. You are deepening what we find in in our textbook and focusing the seminar on a particular issue. Actual application of the ideas/theory in particular research studies will come later, in your second paper for the course. For now,just explain the problem and discuss it. And when you facilitate discussion based on your paper, do not see your job as giving a lecture. You might want to lecture a bit to set the stage and then initiate discussion of difficult and interesting aspects of the ideas. Try to get us to offer more than just personal examples and feelings. Try to probe our thoughts on questions of definition, distinctions, etc.
Here are a few examples of issues that may suggest paper topics:
· Detecting bullshit;
· Academic bullshit;
· Corporate bullshit;
· Intentions and bullshit;
· Lying vs. bullshitting;
· Social implications of calling bullshit;
· Truth and bullshit;
· Justification and bullshit;
· Values and bullshit;
· Motivated reasoning (also, confirmation bias) and bullshit;
· Political bullshit;
· Speculation and bullshit;
· Bullshitting our self;
· Power and bullshit;
· Bullshit and indirectness, e.g., pompous tone, reluctance to get to the point;
· Faux virtue and bullshit;
· Humor and bullshit;
· Bullshit and pro-social behavior;
Write this paper (prepare this presentation/facilitation) as if you are addressing a peer who has not studied the theory--you are the expert.
The theory/research paper (the second and final paper) comprises a major part of your work in this course (30% of your grade). Also, it is an important part of the learning for others in the seminar. We will be deepening our understanding of particular ideas by means of your presentation/facilitated discussion of the ideas. Develop a 15 to 20 page (typed, double spaced) paper which contributes to the seminar. Think of your paper as consisting of two things: (1) a carefully stated description of the problem/question, and (2) examples of research/writing that tested ideas or dug deeper into it in order to develop it further. Since your first paper for the course took care of (1), a description of the problem, you should be able to build upon that in your theory/research paper. The theory/research paper, then, focuses upon research that tested the theory, discussed it further or otherwise applied it. You might want to explore the research itself, how it was done and any problems in the research we can explore; or the relationship between the theory and the research; implications of findings.
Participation:
Participation in this course is very important. I do not want you to be surprised at grading time if you have not participated. I expect you to speak up. I expect you to get online and to discuss with the class. You are expected to share your home works with the class and to respond to others. I really do expect you to participate, and that is why participation is part of your grade.
Your active involvement in meetings constitutes participation, both as a facilitator and a participant, as well as the asynchronous discussions on VoiceThread. Please ask questions (if you are puzzled by something, chances are, so are others). Question the texts—that’s what we are all about. Find examples that refute the text, the teacher (g-d forbid), and your colleagues. When you challenge ideas you think things through for yourself. The examples (data) you bring to class will be crucial to the quality of the experience we all have in the course. Also, I urge you to work hard on your papers for the course.
Note: Take care to write a coherent paper. Present your ideas in an orderly fashion, with the objective of generating discussion for the purpose of getting us to think more deeply about theory Use probing questions. Use examples where possible. Write simply and clearly. You are teaching us.
Round Table:
I received a Title III grant to support high impact practices. The grant proposed that we will be having live online discussions about ‘bullshit’. This teaching technique is one that I have used many times now and I have seen it have very good effects. I proposed that our seminar have a live, in-person round table at the end of the semester here on the Portland Campus. The proposal asked for funding for each of you to take part in the round table, a stipend. I have $600.00 to distribute among the round table participants, members of the class. I hope to talk about the plan during the course and to even run a kind of practice session toward the end of the course and then have the live round table with guests invited and food available to all. So, please do plan on taking part.
When Assignments are Due:
The course is designed in weekly units. Each unit starts on a Monday and ends on a Sunday. Assignments are due by Sunday night at midnight. Please don’t wait until the last minute to do assignments. See the Schedule Tab for a printer friendly version of assignments and due dates.
Please note: The course is designed to be taken in weekly units. I will not accept a pile of papers or discussion posts, etc., later in the course.
Self Graded Participation:
One way to inspire thinking and expression of thoughts may be for you to know that I will not grade you on what you say at our meetings. Instead I am asking you to grade your self. At the end of the course, I ask you to suggest your grade for participation in discussions and presentations (25% of the grade). I take final responsibility for this grade and will not go along with an outlandish suggestion, but if at all possible, I will honor your recommendation. So, feel free to participate and meet your standards and your goals.
Expectation for Use
I will expect you to be active in our discussions. To put it bluntly, when we meet on Adobe Connect, if you do not participate in a way that the rest of us can take in, then you are almost not present. On VoiceThread it is a challenge sometimes to keep up a good discussion but it can be done. Not only do you need to post, but respond to others. Be clear about who is posting and who you are responding to. You can reply directy to another’s post and we will all have access to it. Make reference to our textbook or other readings you find. If you just get on to say something to get it over with, that doesn’t really lead to good discussions. A the very least, post twice a week. More is better. I am reducing the use of the Discussion Board in Blackboard to near zero since I find it is a weak technology for really good discussions. As you post, especially once we get past the first paper, ask your self: Am I talking about ‘bullshit’ or not?