Writing Science Politics

3 Credits · Level: Graduate

This class will produce the first-ever student publication volume for Science Politics indexed via Digital Georgetown. Science Politics was launched in 2025 by the STIA program to build civic trust through solutions-focused journalism addressing six core themes: energy, food, technology, health, environment, and space. We’ve honed a writing form we call a “journazine” (a hybrid that combines academic rigor with journalistic storytelling): 3-5 times a week, we publish feature-length articles that combine a journal’s deeply researched, original insight with the accessible, explanatory language of a magazine. We also publish longer-form essays as special collections that are available in print and online. By making information free and easily accessible, we hope to build more dialogue and possibly more trust in scientific experts. Students will write several articles in the style of Science Politics. You will learn many aspects of working on the journazine, from writing your own opinion pieces, researched articles, explainers, book reviews, and letters to the editor to editing, fact-checking, managing the website, business side of our publication, drafting the final copy, and design for the student-run volume. With this process, our contributors 1) learn practical writing and journalistic tools to strengthen clarity and influence; 2) understand the Science Politics model of audience, solutions orientation, and impact; and 3) join a growing network of scientists and policymakers committed to advancing science communication. Your professor is seasoned journalist Prof Kelly J Kelly, who has long worked in journalism in the DC area, including 12 years for Voice of America and 20 years as a fellowship coach for The OpEd Project. She is also founding Executive Editor for Science Politics. The course will produce its first-ever student volume of essays for Science Politics, and you will learn the ins and outs of producing a "journazine". This is a skills-based class that is a particularly good fit for students who anticipate communicating with the public and establishing themselves as thought leaders. We will do limited outside reading but plenty of writing.