BIOL 107 - Biology and Society: Biology for an Engaged Citizenry

4 Credit(s)

This writing-enriched course for nonscience majors is designed to fulfill the lab science distribution requirement. The goals of the class are (1) to empower students (our future citizenry) to make informed decisions (2) by helping students to acquire the tools of gathering information (research), decision making, and persuasion. The class is centered on four topics: evolution, environmental pollution, biotechnology, and human populations and reproductive health. We encourage students to become engaged in issues regarding all four topics by assigning “action papers.” These action papers are letters sent to people in profit and nonprofit organizations and government agencies, and to politicians and other individuals in positions to take action on any of these matters. The letters request information, prompt certain actions, or express an opinion regarding a specific policy based on sound understanding of the science involved. Small inquiry groups conduct web-based research on these topics and present their findings in oral presentations/discussions to the class community. Each inquiry group and individual student writes a paper on each of the four topics. Course assessment is based on these assignments.
6 hours of lecture and laboratory.
Fulfills the general education requirement in science.
Prerequisite(s): No Prerequisites.