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21W.036

Science Writing and New Media: Writing and the Environment

3-0-9 units. HASS-H; CI-HW · Undergraduate

Develops written and oral communication skills through the study and practice of environmental science writing. Covers a wide range of genres, including such standard forms as the scientific literature review. Students adapt the content of their papers and oral presentations to the distinctive needs of specific audiences. Assignments provide thematic coherence and a basis for independent student research. Limited to 15.

Spring 2022

Environmentalists have traditionally relied upon the power of their prose to transform the thoughts and behavior of their contemporaries. In 1963, Rachel Carson, a marine biologist with a penchant for writing, described a world without wildlife in *Silent Spring* and altered the way Americans understood their impact on the landscape. Like other writers we will encounter this semester, Carson realized that she could alter the perceptions of her contemporaries only if she was able to transmit her knowledge in engaging and accessible language. We will do our best to follow in her footsteps.

Readings

  • Stickgold, Robert, and Jeffrey M. Ellenbogen. “Quiet! Sleeping Brain at Work.” Scientific American Mind 19, no. 4 (2008): 22–29.
    Listed reading
  • Wilson, Edward O. “Paradise Beach.” Chapter 1 in Naturalist . Island Press, 2006. ISBN: 9781597260886.
    Listed reading
  • Leopold, Aldo. “February” in A Sand County Almanac, and Sketches Here and There . Oxford University Press, USA, 1989. ISBN: 9780197500262.
    Listed reading
  • Ross, Carolyn. “Rhetoric: Writing about Personal Experience” in Writing Nature: An Ecological Reader for Writers . St. Martin’s Press, 1995. ISBN: 9780312103910.
    Listed reading
  • Savoy, Lauret. “A Stone’s Throw: The View from Point Sublime.” Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built & Natural Environments , no. 24 (2009).
    Listed reading
  • Turner, Jack. “Introduction” and “Return” in Teewinot: A Year in the Teton Range . Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2001.
    Listed reading
  • Meloy, Ellen. “The Inverse Cordillera” and “The Flora and Fauna of Las Vegas” in Raven’s Exile: A Season on the Green River . University of Arizona Press, 2003. ISBN: 9780816522934.
    Listed reading
  • Lopez, Barry. “Gone Back into the Earth” in Crossing Open Ground . Open Road Media, 2013. ISBN: 9781480409170,
    Listed reading
  • Lopez, Barry. Excerpt from “A Northern Passage” in Arctic Dreams: Imagination and Desire in a Northern Landscape . Vintage, 2001. ISBN: 9780375727481.
    Listed reading
  • O’Connor, Cailin, and James Owen Weatherall. “Why We Trust Lies.” Scientific American, Sept (2019).
    Listed reading
  • Kolbert, Elizabeth. “ Why Facts Don’t Change Our Minds .” The New Yorker 27, no. 2017 (2017): 47. ↗
    Listed reading
  • Penrose, Ann and Steven Katz. “Reviewing Prior Research.” Chapter Five in Writing in the Sciences: Exploring Conventions of Scientific Discourse . Third Edition. Open Access Version. Parlor Press, 2010. ISBN: 9781643171869. ↗
    Listed reading
  • Bednarek, Angela T. “Undamming Rivers: A Review of the Ecological Impacts of Dam Removal.” Environmental Management 27, no. 6 (2001): 803–814.
    Listed reading
  • Marks, Jane C. “Down Go the Dams.” Scientific American 296, no. 3 (2007): 66–71.
    Listed reading
  • Go back to the article that will provide a starting point for your Scientific American update. Read it carefully .
    Listed reading
  • Hancock, Elise. “Finding Stories” in Ideas into Words: Mastering the Craft of Science Writing . JHU Press, 2003. ISBN: 9780801873294.
    Listed reading
  • Zinsser, William. “Science and Technology” in On Writing Well: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction. Harper Collins, 2012. ISBN: 9780062250506.
    Listed reading
  • Find and read additional material, possibly including recent news articles, to prepare for your Scientific American Update. Science News might be a useful source.
    Listed reading
  • Angles 2019 student work: Saving Our Pollinators: Investigating Causes of Bee Deaths ↗
    Listed reading
  • James Hansen: “Why I Must Speak Out About Climate Change” (2012)
    Listed reading
  • James Balog (Director of Chasing Ice ): “Time-Lapse Proof of Extreme Ice Loss” (2009)
    Listed reading
  • Sylvia Earle: “My Wish: Protect our Oceans” (2009)
    Listed reading
  • Marla Spivak: “Why Bees are Disappearing” (2013)
    Listed reading
  • Cesar Harada (MIT affiliate): “A Novel Idea for Cleaning Up Oil Spills” (2012): response to Gulf Oil spill
    Listed reading
  • Topher White: “What Can Save the Rainforest? Your Used Cell Phone” (2014)
    Listed reading
  • John Englander: “Sea Level Rise - Fact & Fiction” (2014) TEDxBocaRaton (search via Youtube)
    Listed reading

Prerequisites & course information

Prereq: None Acad Year 2027-2028: U (Spring) Acad Year 2028-2029: Not offered 3-0-9 units. HASS-H; CI-HW Credit cannot also be received for 21W.031 , 21W.034 , 21W.035

Sources