September 4, 2025

Course Introduction

Today’s Agenda

1. Course Introduction

2. Course Expectations/Assignments

3. Course Policies

4. Questions

Course Introduction

Exercise

  • With your neighbors, discuss: What is the most important political problem facing the world today?
  • Discuss with your neighbors: how would you find out what is true about this issue? (be honest with yourself… how would, not how should)
  • Does this get at the actual “truth”? Why or why not?
  • What role should “truth” play in forming your opinion on this issue?

Learning Objectives

  • Give reasons for why truth is important in politics.
  • Identify the types of claims made (implicitly or explicitly) in real-world political discourse.
  • Identify which of these claims can be subject to scientific scrutiny.
  • Explain what distinguishes scientific from unscientific forms of evidence.
  • Analyze real-world descriptive and causal claims about politics and identify specific errors with the use of evidence and explain why these errors occurred.
  • Analyze real-world causal claims and identify the types of causal evidence provided and explain the assumptions needed for this evidence to be valid.
  • Apply these tools of analysis to explain how both claims and a critical engagement with the evidence for those claims change their opinion on the issue at hand.

Practically

  • Is this media or message that I am exposed to attempting to persuade me or change my behavior?
  • What is this message attempting to get me to do/believe?
  • How does this message attempt to persuade or motivate me?
  • Does the message employ claims and evidence?
  • What could go wrong with this evidence?
  • What would be better evidence?

What is the ultimate goal of this course?

A note

Examples used in class

We will likely use many examples that come from the US and the Trump Administration:

  • Why? (Two Reasons)
  • No need for agreement.

Course Administration

Course Expectations

Your grade

Item Number Points Fraction of Grade
Short Assignments 4 2.5 10%
Group Project 1 9 9%
Course Survey 1 1 1%
Tutorial Participation 1 10 10%
Midterm Exam 1 30 30%
Final Exam 1 40 40%

Reasoning

  • Thanks, OpenAI.
  • Don’t train LLMs to take your (future) job.
  • LLMs useful tools, but won’t cultivate critical thinking.
  • AI tools (e.g. chat bots, Grammarly, etc.) not permitted for assignments, with one exception. Welcome to use as study aid

Key Dates

  1. Assignment 1: September 29
  2. Assignment 2: October 13
  3. Midterm Exam: October 23
  4. Assignment 3: November 17
  5. Assignment 4: November 28
  6. Final Exam: TBD

Short Assignments

\(\bullet\) Apply key concepts to your choice of current events

\(\bullet\) Available on Canvas 1 week prior to due date @ 9AM

\(\bullet\) 1 week to complete/upload to Canvas


practice your understanding of course material, before exams

Group Project

\(\bullet\) Ask and answer question about real problem facing students

\(\bullet\) Develop, Analyze, Interpret survey questions

\(\bullet\) Work in 5-6 person groups from tutorial

\(\bullet\) Write memo with incremental deadlines

\(\bullet\) Overall grade weighted by personal contribution


work with others on your understanding of course material, before exams

Midterm Exam

\(\bullet\) October 23 in class

\(\bullet\) Covers materials from weeks 1 to 7

\(\bullet\) In class / Tutorial Review session(s) AND lists of key terms/example questions

Final Exam

\(\bullet\) Date TBD

\(\bullet\) Cumulative over entire course, but emphasizes weeks 8 to 14.

\(\bullet\) Review session and key terms/example questions

Exam Study

  • Previous exams available already
  • Piazza to ask/draft answers to these questions: collectively produce a study guide
  • Piazza to ask any course-content related questions

Grading

\(\bullet\) TAs (except for group memo)

\(\bullet\) Rubrics

\(\bullet\) Validation

\(\bullet\) No expected distribution

What you need to do:

\(\bullet\) Attend lecture:

  • slides are not enough; reading is not enough; take thoughtful notes (not transcription)

\(\bullet\) Attend Tutorial

  • Starts in week 2
  • Participate in group activity (survey writing)

\(\bullet\) Read

\(\bullet\) Canvas

\(\bullet\) Piazza

What I will do:

\(\bullet\) List of concepts/Review

\(\bullet\) Slides/Lectures

\(\bullet\) Speed

\(\bullet\) Discussion/Questions/Examples

Course Policies

Missed Exam/ Late Assignments:

\(\bullet\) Scheduling Conflict

  • Only applies to exams. Notify me in advance.

\(\bullet\) Unforeseen Events

  • midterms, assignments in other courses are not “unforeseen”
  • Contact professor: concessions can be prospective/retroactive
  • May direct you to Arts Advising for concession

\(\bullet\) Lateness

  • non-catastrophic deduction (5% deduction after every 24 hours)
  • max penalty of 30% (after 1 week), delayed grading

Late Policy:

Reasons:

  1. Responsibility
  2. Equity
  3. Learning

Grade Appeals:

\(\bullet\) formal written letter

\(\bullet\) To your TA

\(\bullet\) after 48 hours waiting period

\(\bullet\) Grades can change \(\Updownarrow\)

Tutorials:

\(\bullet\) No participation without attendance

\(\bullet\) Late group project deadlines \(\to\) half participation

\(\bullet\) Make up absences/holidays by attending another Tutorial

\(\bullet\) Excused absences require official concession

  • up to 2 missed tutorials without concession (best 10 out of 12)

Office Hours

Tuesdays after lecture

Questions?