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“Today, we are all less conscious of our severe mental
shortcomings and less inclined to be skeptical of our own opinions. We have confirmation bias; we pick out
evidence that supports our views. We
are cognitive misers; we try to think as little as possible. We are herd
thinkers who [adapt] our perceptions to fit in with the group.” -David Brooks Herd Thinkers The goal of this course is to help you strengthen your reading and writing skills as well as your ability to ask questions and think critically. We will do this by reading, discussing and writing about issues of conformity, “groupthink,” and obedience to authority. We will read some classic social psychology studies of conformity and obedience: Solomon Asch’s “Opinions and Social Pressure,” Stanley Milgram’s obedience experiments as described in “The Perils of Obedience,” and Irving Janis’s description and analysis of the concept he termed “groupthink.” Using our class Message Board to discuss assignments with each other, you will work collaboratively with fellow students, posting answers to questions and discussing the readings and video clips in order to develop your own analyses and judgements. Expect this part of the course to be more time-consuming than attending an in-person class discussion. You will submit written papers online, and they will be returned online. Read about the basic Course Requirements & Policies to be sure you know the rules of the game. Any questions? Post them to the "Question Box" or else contact me via Campus Cruiser at robertgr9050@portal.middlesexcc.edu. There are no required print textbooks for this class. All the readings will be available online from our Cruiser course pages. You would probably be wise to print them out though rather than speedreading them online. This is an English class where close, thoughtful reading is encouraged and valued. If you have a comp handbook from English 121 that you like, use it. But links in some assignments and other course pages will refer you to help with all matters covered in a typical college composition handbook. These links – to such helpful web pages as Purdue's On-Line Writing Lab and Capital Community College’s online Guide to Grammar and Writing – will also be found on our Internet Resources page. To effectively participate in this class, you will need reliable access to a computer, dependable Internet access, and a Cable or DSL modem, as well as Microsoft Word for the papers. We will use Campus Cruiser e-mail to interact with each other, and we'll discuss the readings on the class Message Board on Course Cruiser. Your papers should be composed in Microsoft Word (not Word Perfect) and submitted using the Campus Cruiser Submission procedure in "My Assignments": i.e., choose the relevant assignment, click "Submit Your Assignment," and follow instructions. Word allows me (if necessary) to insert detailed comments in your paper, and Cruiser allows me to post individualized, retrievable comments. Note Well! You are expected to be proficient at sending and
receiving email (including attachments), searching the Internet, and word
processing. This is an English class, not a computer class. Some technical
assistance will be available, but you will be expected to have these basic
skills.
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