Crit.Thinking in Critical Time

1 Credit · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

The course will be taught using a working scientist's approach to critical thinking. We will use critical issues of the day as illustrations of the life challenges that Georgetown students will need to better understand in order to remain as productive and engaged in the world around them as they can be. In the first part of the course we will inventory critical thinking skills that students have already acquired at Georgetown, sometimes without knowing, and build on a few of them (1st third of the course). Next we will organize into small groups and use "exercises" culled from the current headlines that have biotechnology or biomedical themes and that challenge students to apply critical thinking to problems outside their comfort zone. The goal is to demystify the supposedly mysterious world of constantly evolving biotechnology and show students that they really can figure out anything, regardless their major or specialization. Finally, each small group will choose their favorite biotechnology or biomedical topic and use what is learned in the course to answer key questions (posed by Prof. Roepe) related to that topic.