PHIL 2901A

Truth and Propaganda

Winter 2023

Course Outline

I. Admin

Instructor: Gabriele Contessa

Office Hours: Wednesday, 2:05pm–2:55pm or by appointment

Zoom Link to Virtual Office: See Admin section in Brightspace

Virtual Classes: Wednesday and Friday, 11:35am–12:55pm

Zoom Link to Virtual Classroom: See Admin section in Brightspace

E-mail: gabriele_contessa@carleton.ca

II. Description
Course Description: A critical examination of selected topics and perspectives in the history of social and political philosophy.

Topic Description: Should political authorities restrict the freedom of their subjects to promote their subjects' supposed interests? Paternalists tend to answer this question positively while anti-paternalists tend to answer it negatively. In this course, we will follow the evolution of these two strands of Western political thought from their origin in the early modern period to contemporary debates.

III. Prerequisites/Preclusions

Precludes additional credit for PHIL 3300;

Prerequisite(s): a course in philosophy or second-year standing.

IV. Texts

All texts for this course will be accessible through Brightspace.

V. Evaluation

The evaluation criteria for this course depend on which stream you choose (see Streams below).

Participation-Intensive Stream

Attendance & Participation (50%)

Discussion Questions (20%)

Two Response Papers (Best of which worth 30%)

Writing-Intensive Stream

Attendance & Participation (30%)

Discussion Questions (20%)

Three Response Papers (best of which worth 30% other two worth 10% each)

Standing in a course is determined by the course instructor subject to the approval of the Faculty Dean. This means that grades submitted by the instructor may be subject to revision. No grades are final until they have been approved by the Dean.

VI. Course Organization and Course Policies

Overview. This course will be run like a seminar. In a seminar, the role of the instructor is to lead and facilitate the discussion among students (instead of lecturing them). Seminars encourage students to adopt a more active approach to learning, to engage more directly with the issues discussed, and to take responsibility for their own learning. This approach is supported by empirical studies that suggest that, while lecturing might give students a false sense of understanding, actively engaged students actually learn more (see, e.g., (Deslaurier et al 2019) and (Carpenter et al 2020)). However, the success of a seminar partly depends on everyone doing their part. This includes, among other things, doing the readings, submitting thoughtful and relevant discussion questions, and making constructive contributions to the discussion in class.  

Streams. In this course, you can choose one of two streams–the participation-intensive stream and the writing-intensive stream. Please use the Stream Selection Form in the Admin section of Brightspace to choose your stream.

Discussion Questions. All students are expected to submit a discussion question per session. Discussion questions must be posted on Brightspace before the start of the relevant session. Regardless of whether your discussion question is specific (i.e. a question that refers to a specific passage) or general questions (i.e. a question about the reading in general), they need to make clear and explicit reference to the relevant reading. If your question refers to a specific passage, please give a clear reference and please provide a full quotation of the passage in your post. Generic questions (i.e. questions that do not clearly and explicitly relate to the reading but only to the general topic of the reading) are not acceptable and will not receive full credit. The questions can be interpretive (e.g. ‘What does the author mean in this passage?’) or evaluative (e.g. ‘Do you think that the argument that the author gives in this passage works?’). During the meeting, students  will take turns asking their discussion questions and giving tentative answers to their own questions (e.g. ‘I don’t think that the argument works because… ’) and then we’ll open the discussion. Your tentative answer to your question does not have to be submitted with your discussion questions but will count as part of your participation mark (see below). Discussion questions should be no longer than 100 words (excluding any quotations from the reading). Longer questions will receive only partial credit. If, for whatever reason, you are unable to attend a session, you should still submit your discussion questions if possible.

Please note that, barring extenuating circumstances (e.g., illness or family emergency), failing to submit a discussion question by the start of the session will result in an ‘Incomplete’, which is equivalent to a zero. 

If exceptional circumstances (e.g., illness or family emergency) prevent you from submitting a discussion question, please notify me by email as soon as possible.

Attendance and Participation. Attendance and participation are crucial to the success of a seminar-style course. You are strongly encouraged to contribute to the class discussion irrespectively of the stream you have chosen. Every week you will receive a participation grade based on both the quantity and the quality of your contributions to the class discussion during that week. While the most important way for you to contribute to the discussion is to participate in the oral discussion (i.e., it is to talk in class), contributions to the discussion forums on Brightspace and correct answers to Poll Everywhere polls, and (to a much lesser extent) contributions to the Zoom chat will also count towards your participation grade. (But please keep in mind that, due to the nature of chat discussions, contributions to the chat are typically worth significantly less in terms of your overall participation grade than (the typically more substantial) contributions to the oral discussion or to the forum.) Students in either stream are expected to attend all sessions of the course. For students in the writing-intensive stream, 75% of the attendance and participation grade is based on attendance, while for students in the participation-intensive stream, only 45% of the attendance and participation grade is based on attendance. Attendance will be tracked using Poll Everywhere, so please make sure you are able to use it (see below). Correct answers to Poll Everywhere questions will contribute 25% of the Attendance and Participation grade for students in the Writing-Intensive Stream and 15% for those in the Participation-Intensive Stream.

Please note that, barring extenuating circumstances (e.g. illness or family emergency), failure to attend a session will result in a zero.

If extenuating circumstances (e.g., illness or family emergency) prevent you from attending a meeting, please notify me by email as soon as possible.

Polling Software. Poll Everywhere will be used to track attendance, to poll students, and to ask questions about the readings. You can respond to in-class polls using a laptop, a tablet, a smartphone, or any other device with an internet connection. Alternatively, you can submit your answers through SMS (charges from your provider may apply). You should be registered automatically for the course. Please make sure to always use your Cmail e-mail address (yourfirstnameyourlastname@cmail.carleton.ca) when signing into Poll Everywhere. Active polls for the course can be found at PollEv.com/contessa.

Response Papers. Response papers are supposed to engage critically with one of the readings for the discussion sessions. You can choose any of the readings that have been covered so far in the course (insofar as you haven’t discussed it already in a previous response paper). Response papers are expected to have a clearly stated thesis and a clearly stated argument to support that thesis. A standard kind of response paper argues that one of the main theses in one of the readings is false or that one of the main arguments offered in one of the readings is unsound (i.e. the argument does not support its conclusion either because one of its premises is false or because the argument is invalid). In either case, you are expected to describe clearly and accurately the thesis/argument you are arguing against and to state clearly your thesis and your argument in support of it. Response papers should be submitted through Brightspace, they should be no longer than 250 words (excluding reference), and they should not contain any identifying information (as they will be graded anonymously).

Please note that, barring extenuating circumstances (e.g., illness, family emergency), failing to submit a response paper will result in 0% on that paper. If extenuating circumstances (e.g., illness or family emergency) prevent you from submitting a response paper on time, please notify me by email as soon as possible. Please also note that late response papers are subject to a 5-point penalty for every day they are late and that longer response papers will be subject to a 1-point penalty for every 25 words over the word limit. 

Academic Integrity. You are responsible for ensuring that you understand the nature of academic offenses (such as plagiarism and unauthorized collaboration), as defined in the Undergraduate Calendar, and to avoid both committing them and aiding or abetting academic offenses perpetrated by other students. Please be aware that I am bound to report any suspected academic offense directly to the Office of the Dean.

The University Senate defines plagiarism as “presenting, whether intentionally or not, the ideas, expression of ideas or work of others as one’s own.” This can include: reproducing or paraphrasing portions of someone else’s published or unpublished material, regardless of the source, and presenting these as one’s own without proper citation or reference to the original source; submitting a take-home examination, essay, laboratory report or other assignment written, in whole or in part, by someone else; using ideas or direct, verbatim quotations, or paraphrased material, concepts, or ideas without appropriate acknowledgment in any academic assignment; using another’s data or research findings; failing to acknowledge sources through the use of proper citations when using another’s works and/or failing to use quotation marks; handing in "substantially the same piece of work for academic credit more than once without prior written permission of the course instructor in which the submission occurs." Plagiarism is a serious offence that cannot be resolved directly by the course’s instructor. The Associate Dean of the Faculty conducts a rigorous investigation, including an interview with the student, when an instructor suspects a piece of work has been plagiarized. Penalties are not trivial. They can include a final grade of "F" for the course.

Copyright. Carleton University is committed to compliance in all copyright matters. Noncompliance is a violation of the Canadian Copyright Act. In addition to any actions that might be taken by any copyright owner or its licensing agent, the University will take steps against any breach of this policy. In Canada, copyright for a work is given automatically to the creator of the work. The work does not need to be marked or declared as copyrighted in order to be copyrighted. The majority of works in Canada are copyrighted. It is important for students to understand and respect copyright. Copyright determines your usage rights for a particular work, which includes textbooks, web pages, videos and images, both electronic and hard copy. Students may not photocopy entire or major portions of books or other works, even if it is only for their personal use. Fair dealing makes some allowances for copying small portions of works. See Carleton's Fair Dealing Policy for more information. If journal articles or portions of works are available through the library, either as hard copies or electronically, students may make a single copy for their personal use. Students may not distribute copies of works that are under copyright. For more information, please see the Carleton's Fair Dealing Policy and the library's copyright website: www.library.carleton.ca/copyright.

VII. Course Calendar

Please note that the course calendar is provisional and subject to change.

Please check this Course Outline regularly for updates.

Department of Philosophy and Carleton University Policies (Fall/Winter 2022-23)

Assignments:

Please follow your professor’s instructions on how assignments will be handled electronically.  There will be NO hard copies placed in the essay box this coming year.

Evaluation:

Standing in a course is determined by the course instructor subject to the approval of the Faculty Dean.  This means that grades submitted by the instructor may be subject to revision.  No grades are final until they have been approved by the Dean.

Deferrals for Term Work:

If students are unable to complete term work because of illness or other circumstances beyond their control, they should contact their course instructor no later than three working days of the due date.  Normally, any deferred term work will be completed by the last day of the term.  Term work cannot be deferred by the Registrar.

Deferrals for Final Exams:

Students are expected to be available for the duration of a course including the examination period.  Occasionally, students encounter circumstances beyond their control where they may not be able to write a final examination or submit a take-home examination. Examples of this would be a serious illness or the death of a family member.  If you miss a final examination and/or fail to submit a take-home examination by the due date, you may apply for a deferral no later than three working days after the original due date (as per the University Regulations in Section 4.3 of the Undergraduate Calendar). Visit the Registrar’s Office for further information.

Plagiarism:

It is the responsibility of each student to understand the meaning of ‘plagiarism’ as defined in the Undergraduate or Graduate Calendars, and to avoid both committing plagiarism and aiding or abetting plagiarism by other students.  (Section 10.1 of the Undergraduate Calendar Academic Regulations)

Academic Accommodation:

You may need special arrangements to meet your academic obligations during the term:

§  Pregnancy or religious obligation: write to your professor with any requests for academic accommodation during the first two weeks of class, or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known to exist. For more details visit the EDC website.

§  Academic accommodations for students with disabilities: The Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities (PMC) provides services to students with Learning Disabilities (LD), psychiatric/mental health disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), chronic medical conditions, and impairments in mobility, hearing, and vision. If you have a disability requiring academic accommodations in this course, please contact PMC at 613-520-6608 or pmc@carleton.ca for a formal evaluation. If you are already registered with the PMC, contact your PMC coordinator to send your Letter of Accommodation at the beginning of the term, and no later than two weeks before the first in-class test or exam requiring accommodation.  After requesting accommodation from PMC, meet with your professor to ensure accommodation arrangements are made.

§  Survivors of Sexual Violence:  As a community, Carleton University is committed to maintaining a positive learning, working and living environment where sexual violence will not be tolerated, and where survivors are supported through academic accommodations as per Carleton’s Sexual Violence Policy.

§  Accommodation for Student Activities:  Carleton University recognizes the substantial benefits, both to the individual student and for the university, that result from a student participating in activities beyond the classroom experience. Reasonable accommodation must be provided to students who compete or perform at the national or international level. Please contact your instructor with any requests for academic accommodation during the first two weeks of class, or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known to exist.

Important Dates:

Sept. 7                   Classes start.

Sept. 20                Last day for registration and course changes for fall term and fall/winter (two-term) courses.

Sept. 30                Last day for entire fee adjustment when withdrawing from fall term or two-term courses. Withdrawals after this date will result in a permanent notation of WDN on the official transcript.

Oct. 10                  Statutory holiday. University closed.

Oct. 24-28            Fall Break – no classes.

Nov. 25                 Last day for summative tests or examinations, or formative tests or examinations totaling more than 15% of the final grade, before the official examination period.

Dec. 9                    Last day of fall term classes. Classes follow a Monday schedule. Last day for academic withdrawal from fall term courses. Last day for handing in term work and the last day that can be specified by a course instructor as a due date for term work for a fall term course.

Dec. 10-22           Final examinations for fall term courses and mid-term examinations in two-term courses. Examinations are normally held all seven days of the week.

Dec. 22                  All take-home examinations are due.

Jan. 9                     Classes begin.

Jan. 20                   Last day for registration and course changes in the winter term.

Jan. 31                   Last day for a full fee adjustment when withdrawing from winter term courses or from the winter portion of two-term courses. Withdrawals after this date will result in a permanent notation of WDN on the official transcript.

Feb. 20                  Statutory holiday. University closed.

Feb. 20-24           Winter Break – no classes.

Mar. 15                 Last day for academic withdrawal from fall/winter and winter courses.

Mar. 29                 Last day for summative tests or examinations, or formative tests or examinations totaling more than 15% of the final grade, in winter term or fall/winter courses before the official examination period.

Apr. 7                     Statutory holiday.  University closed.

Apr. 12                  Last day of two-term and winter term classes. Classes follow a Friday schedule. Last day for handing in term work and the last day that can be specified by a course instructor as a due date for two-term and for winter term courses.

Apr. 13-14           No classes or examinations take place.

Apr. 15-27           Final examinations for winter term and two-term courses. Examinations are normally held all seven days of the week.

Apr. 27                  All take-home examinations are due.  

Addresses:

Department of Philosophy:

www.carleton.ca/philosophy

520-2110

Registrar’s Office:                

www.carleton.ca/registrar

520-3500

Academic Advising Centre:                                  

www.carleton.ca/academicadvising

520-7850

Writing Services:

http://www.carleton.ca/csas/writing-services/

520-3822

MacOdrum Library              

http://www.library.carleton.ca/

520-2735