Critical Thinking in Journalism

Course Catalog Description

Course designed to introduce students to critical, logical, argument based thinking and its antitheses of cognitive biases, illusions, and thinking fallacies. The final project is an application of critical thinking to to a product of value to the student post end of class (e.g., write a journal of critical thinking while working in a newsroom, build a collection of news articles exhibiting thinking fallacies, work a high level of logic and argument into a project for another class and keep a journal of that process).

Course Overview

Critical Thinking in Journalism recognizes as its premise that journalism and other forms of knowledge communication are processes that gather information and turn it into a finished product through selection, craft, and presentation; and that at each step thinking minds are at work making decisions. The course examines rigorous thinking to apply to the production of journalism and inspects fallacious thinking to acknowledge and correct.

Course Learning Outcomes

The learning outcomes are for students to recognize the components and application of critical thinking and the purposeful acknowledgement and correction of fallacious thinking while working in the processes of journalism and knowledge communication.

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  • Thinking fallacies

    Cognitive bias

    Truth

    Objectivity

    Social knowledge

    Logic

    Argumentation

    Persuasion

    Facts

    Cognitive dissonance

    Consensus

    Wisdom of crowds, foolishness of mobs

    Culture

    Culture wars

    Identity politics

    Plurality and cosmopolitanism

    Moral imagination

    Scientific method

    Experiment