CALLING BULLSHIT Sociology 109

"Falsehood flies, and the Truth comes limping after it." -Jonathan Swift (1710)

We’re awash in an information society, but do you really know how to make sense of any of it? Learn more about the promise and pitfalls of reasoning with facts. From big data to statistics, logical fallacies to false equivalence, fake news to publication bias, this course will give you the skills you need to be a better student, scientist, citizen, consumer, and human being.

There are two main goals around which the course is organized:

1. Identifying bullshit in its natural environments
2. Calling out bullshit when and where it arises

"The good news is this. Bullshitters have gotten pretty lazy - and their work is easily detected. And looking for it is kind of a pleasant way to pass the time, like an “I Spy” of bullshit. The best defense against bullshit is vigilance... So if you smell something, say something!” -Jon Stewart (2015)

We will pursue these twin goals through a focus on a wide variety of topics, encompassing both "old" and new forms of bullshit. Topics of the course include:

• Statistical tricks
• Psychological tricks
• The pitfalls of surveys
• Causality
• Bureaucratic bullshit
• Rhetorical bullshit
• Fake news and fact checking
• Bullshit on campus
• Data analytics and their discontents
• Modern algorithm-based decision making
• Logical fallacies
• Conspiracy theories
• Data visualization
• The impact of bullshit on democracy, business, and everything in between

This course is inspired by, and steals liberally from, a course by the same name developed by Carl T. Bergstrom and Jevin West at the University of Washington. All their materials are available at callingbullshit.org

There is no textbook for the course! Required readings consist of a variety of timely magazine articles and blog posts, videos, scholarly book chapters and journal publications. A key feature of the course is a series of many guest presentations by Lehigh faculty in many different disciplines, so students will have the opportunity to see how bullshit works in a wide variety of different contexts. Class sessions themselves involve a great deal of interaction, so students can expect to be actively involved in class discussion, exercises, and so forth. Homework will focus on practice identifying and calling out bullshit in areas of interest to students.

There has been no other course at Lehigh that has prepared me for law school in the way that your class has. I am so thankful that I got to take your class and thank you for teaching me great skills for not just calling bullshit but also skills I will use throughout my law school career and following that! I cannot express enough how much I enjoyed this class!

I truly enjoyed this class and I felt involved and completely engaged in the course, even though there were so many participants!

This has truly been my favorite class I have taken at Lehigh, and probably ever in my years of schooling. I love how I can really apply this stuff to my everyday life.

Calling Bullshit is taught by Professor Ziad Munson, with the help of many guest lectures from other faculty in a variety of disciplines.

Dr. Munson is a Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at Lehigh. His research and teaching focuses on social movement mobilization and political violence. He is the author of The Making of Pro-Life Activists, a study of recruitment and mobilization in the American pro-life movement (University of Chicago Press, 2009), and Abortion Politics, an examination of the century-old history of the abortion debate (Polity, 2018). He is also the author of various articles on social movements, religion, terrorism, and civil society. His latest research project focuses on understanding the political geography of America’s suburbs, particularly the dramatic changes that have occurred in conservative politics. Munson received his BA from the University of Chicago in 1993 and his PhD from Harvard University in 2002. Beyond his professional work, Ziad enjoys cooking, hiking, playing soccer, and-- yes-- calling out bullshit.