HC441H - Calderwood Seminar in Public Writing: Public Science

Professor:  Dare Baldwin

4.00 credits

  • CRN 25307: Wednesday, 9:00-11:50am @ CHA 102

Calderwood Seminars in Public Writing are advanced-level, writing-intensive courses that engage students in a review of areas of special interest. These seminars emphasize public writing—the ability to translate complex arguments and professional jargon to a broad audience— which is a central feature of a liberal arts education. These seminars will have a collaborative format, with students writing frequently and rewriting their work in response to comments by their professors and input from classmates. You have learned how to write for college, now learn how to write for life.

Science is in the midst of radically reshaping itself in the direction of openness and transparency. This shift has widespread implications for scientists themselves, but also for all the many institutions and industries linked to science, including academia, publishing, health-care, technology innovation, educational practice, science-based policy-making, and science-oriented funding structures. Students in the Public Science seminar will gain a window on forces driving this “open science” movement and explore its implications for human well-being. Writing assignments will engage open science issues within a variety of genres, ranging from public-facing science journalism, such as what one might encounter in Scientific American, a New York Times science journalism piece, or The Conversation, to book reviews, science writing for children, and science-oriented blog posts. Class meetings will emphasize workshop discussion and peer editing of student products. In sum, students will gain exposure to societal benefits of scientific transparency and put open science principles to work in their science writing.

This course fulfills a Writing Elective requirement for the Writing, Public Speaking, and Critical Reasoning minor. Contact WSCR director Emily Simnitt (esimnitt@uoregon.edu) if you plan to use this class towards the WSCR minor. Visit wscr.uoregon.edu for more information.