Writing 21st Century Science
BIOL 365Z
Summer 2026
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
ENVS 365Z, STS 369Z, WRCT 301Z |
Twenty-five years ago, the landscape of biology looked very different. As the century began, the "rough draft" of the Human Genome was nearly complete, a year ahead of schedule. Biomedical scientists envisioned an era of unparalleled progress, leading in a straight line from the new DNA sequence data to human health and behavior. At the same time, new technologies were expected to produce genetically modified crops that would end global hunger. Any evolutionary impacts of climate change on animals and plants in nature were thought to be far in the future. Instead, molecular insights have uncovered unexpected factors in development and disease including epigenetics and the microbiome. Genetically modified crops have led to unforeseen threats to their wild relatives, while constructed ecosystems are providing completely new ways of farming. For natural populations, twenty-first century biologists are scrambling to understand the human-caused evolutionary changes taking place within our lifetimes. Tools are available not just to decode genes but to edit them, at once raising new possibilities and urgent ethical questions.
This course invites students to grow as writers by engaging with these new areas of scientific investigation in an intensive workshop format. Drawing on common content from recent journal articles, Q&A sessions with guest researchers, and a virtual field trip to an innovative farm, students will unpack contemporary biology by explaining the basic science in their own voices, while considering the science in larger societal contexts through connections to their own knowledge and experience. Through science journalism pieces, blogposts, Powerpoint slideshows and researcher profiles, students will learn to communicate cutting-edge scientific findings in clear, non-specialist language. The course will build strengths in communication and collaboration through individual writing and revising, active peer editing, and in-class workshopping of each piece, in a collective student-led format. In place of a final exam, students submit a final essay reflecting on their experience in the course. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
NSM BIOL |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (Biology)(Environmental Studies Minor)(Environmental Studies) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 - Summer Session II |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
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Two recent scientific papers per week, TBA
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Examinations and Assignments:
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Bi-weekly writing and peer editing assignments; final essay reflecting on the course; no exams. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
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This course is an intensive workshop that focuses on developing science writing, editing, and collaborative skills by engaging with contemporary issues in biology and medicine. It serves as a capstone experience for the Biology major. |
| Instructor(s): Sultan,Sonia Times: .M..R.. 01:30PM-05:50PM; Location: ONLINE; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 12 | | SR major: 3 | JR major: 3 | | |
| Seats Available: 12 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 2 | JR non-major: 2 | SO: 2 | FR: X |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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