Course prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this course, although a high school or freshman biology course is recommended. It is open to any student at the university, and, indeed, students of all disciplines are encouraged to take the course and to provide a variety of perspectives. This course has been developed for the Honors Scholars Program as well as for the General Education Curriculum Program as a course to satisfy the category "B" (Implications of Technology) or the category "C" (Social and Ethical Issues) requirement. While the course carries a Biology course number, it is not intended for biology majors, but rather for the university community in general. Enrollment in the course is limited.
Course format: In keeping with the goals of General Education, this course will emphasize critical thinking, writing to learn, and effective oral communication. With this in mind, we will explore the implications of biotechnology from a variety of perspectives. This course should be unlike any you have taken before. You will not be asked to learn a lot of facts to reproduce on exams. While there will be some formal lectures by Dr. Meyer to present background and factual information, the main emphasis of the course will be to develop an awareness of the social and ethical ramifications of biotechnology as they affect each of us individually and society as a whole today and in the future. We will discuss, question, and debate these issues. We will attempt to examine them from opposing points of view. Indeed, some of these issues will be highly controversial. There will be no single "right" answer to any specific question or problem. It is essential that all students participate in these discussions on a daily basis. We will have several videos, as well as numerous readings assigned, to be used as points of departure. We will have several guests lectures throughout the quarter from individuals dealing directly with the issues raised.
Course grade: There will be no examinations. I will give you a brief exam during exam
week, but this will not count towards your grade. It will be used only to evaluate the
effectiveness of the course as part of the General Education Curriculum. All students must
take the exam to complete the course. Attendance is required each day. Your grade will be
lowered by one letter for unexcused absence in excess of two. Anyone missing four classes
will receive an "F" for the course. Absences are excused for illness (with a doctor's excuse),
a death in the family or a court appearance (with appropriate documentation). There will be
no "N" or "I" grades given in the course. Your grade will be determined as follows.
Written communication- An essential component of this course will be the written
assignments.
Critical thinking exercises. There will be several critical thinking exercise which
are to be completed and turned in concerning the readings. These include the following:
Papers. You will be required to write three papers for the course. The first will be short (~3 pages, double-spaced, typed), due in the third week of the quarter. The second will be a major, documented research paper (~10 pages) due in week 7. You will need to meet with me and discuss your research subject in advance. For these first two papers, you may write on any topic related to the course. The third paper will be in the form of a book review or analysis due week 10. Biotechnology is becoming a common theme in popular literature. Choose a novel or book (fiction or nonfiction) in which biotechnology plays an important role. Write a 2-3 page review or analysis which should include a discussion of the technology. (If you can't find a good book, I'll give you some suggestions.) For all written work, late assignments will be penalized by one letter grade. No assignment will be accepted after Friday of the week in which it is due. I am interested in your point of view on these subjects. For me, creativity, clear expression of thought, critical thinking and defense of your position are the most important considerations in these papers.
Journals: Each student is asked to keep a journal for the course in a small, spiral- bound notebook. Writing is an excellent learning technique. It will help you to clarify your thoughts and will help you to formulate meaningful questions. You are asked to write about 10-15 minutes after class each day. These entries should be dated and should include your personal reaction/thoughts/questions/comments, etc. about that day's class. Do not simply summarize the class discussion - (I know what we did in class; I want to get your reaction to that information). It is important to write as soon after the class as possible while the material is still fresh in your mind. The journals will be collected twice during the quarter. I will respond to your comments in your journal.
Oral communication:
Debates: As a part of our goal of effective oral communication, each student will be
expected to participate in a formal debate for one of the four that we will have during the
course. Each debate will consist of two teams of two or three students. Each member of the rest of
the class will prepare two written questions to be asked of the debate teams concerning the
topic of the debate. These will be given to the moderator who will ask these questions of one
or both teams. Class members may ask additional questions as the debate progresses.
Each debate will last 45 min, followed by a general class discussion of the effectiveness of
each team in communicating and convincing the class of their point of view. There will be an
evaluation sheet, submitted by each member of the audience, which will be given to each
debate team member at the next class. I will meet with each student individually after the
debate to discuss his/her performance and to make suggestions to improve communication
skills. If possible, we will videotape the debates for you to look at yourself later, if you wish to
do so.
Class discussion: as the nature of this course is primarily a discussion of issues, each student is expected to read the assignments for the class period and actively participate in class discussions on a daily basis.
Textbooks: For required texts in this course, we will use Biomedical Ethics in the Opposing Viewpoints Series by Greenhaven Press, San Diego. This series presents several short articles, many from the popular press. In each case, there are two articles with opposing perspectives. In addition there will be supplemental materials with articles from the popular press, newspapers, and journals. Please bring your reading assignments and/or appropriate texts to class each day.
Assigned readings: the assigned readings are listed in the syllabus. It is essential that you read these assignments BEFORE COMING TO CLASS, as the readings will form the basis of the day's discussion.