Science Writing in Contemporary Society
Drawing in part from their own interests and ideas, students write about science within various cultural contexts using an array of literary and reportorial tools. Studies the work of contemporary science writers, such as David Quammen and Atul Gawande, and examines the ways in which science and technology are treated in media and popular culture. Discussions focus on students' writing and address topics such as false equivalency, covering controversy, and the attenuation of initial observations. Emphasizes long-form narratives; also looks at blogs, social media, and other modes of communication. Not a technical writing class.
Spring 2017
Topics
- Workshop Essay 1 (3 writers)
- Complexity, controversy, context
- Pre-writing for the Investigative Essay
- Workshop 3 Investigative Essays full class
- Organizing a longer article; incorporating sources and voices
- Watch sample TED talks
- Presentations on websites
- The classic science essay
- Preparing for Book Review Essay
- Workshop Book Review Essays
- Guest speaker: Amanda Gefter
- Work on revision issues
Readings
- [AS] = The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2016 . Edited by Amy Stewart. Mariner Books, 2016. ISBN: 9780544748996.
- For Assignment #1 :
- For Assignment #2:
- Turkle, Sherry. Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other . Basic Books, 2012, pp. 175–209. ISBN: 9780465031467.
- For Assignment #3:
- For Assignment #4
- SES #: 6 · TOPICS: Workshop Essay 1 (3 writers) · READINGS: No assigned readings
- For Assignment #7:
- For Assignment #8:
- For Assignment #9:
- For Assignment #10:
- For Assignment #11:
- SES #: 13 · TOPICS: Pre-writing for the Investigative Essay · READINGS: No assigned readings
- For Assignment #14b:
- SES #: 16 · TOPICS: Organizing a longer article; incorporating sources and voices · READINGS: No assigned readings
- Watch sample TED talks:
- For Assignment #18:
- For Assignment #19:
- Hirsh, Aaron E. “Signs of Life.” In The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2004 . Edited by Tim Folger and Steven Pinker. Mariner Books, 2004. ISBN: 9780618246984.
- Berry, Wendell. “Preserving Wildness.” In Home Economics . North Point Press, 1987. ISBN: 9780865472754.
- SES #: 20 · TOPICS: The classic science essay · READINGS: No assigned readings
- SES #: 21 · TOPICS: Preparing for Book Review Essay · READINGS: No assigned readings
- For Assignment #22:
- SES #: 25 · TOPICS: Work on revision issues · READINGS: No assigned readings
Spring 2009 · The Science Essay
The science essay uses science to think about the human condition; it uses humanistic thinking to reflect on the possibilities and limits of science and technology. In this class we read and practice writing science essays of varied lengths and purposes. We will read a wide variety of science essays, ranging across disciplines, both to learn more about this genre and to inspire your own writing. This semester's reading centers on "The Dark Side," with essays ranging from Alan Lightman's "Prisoner of the Wired World" through Robin Marantz Henig's cautionary account of nano-technology ("Our Silver-Coated Future") to David Quammen's investigation of diseases that jump from animals to humans ("Deadly Contact").
Readings
- Groopman, Jerome, and Tim Folger. The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2008 . Boston, MA: Mariner Books, 2008. ISBN: 9780618834471.
- Lightman, Alan. “Smile.” In A Modern Day Yankee in a Connecticut Court: And Other Essays on Science . New York, NY: Viking, 1986, pp. 34-37 and 165-166. ISBN: 9780670812394.
- Thomas, Lewis. “Crickets, Bats, Cats, and Chaos.” Audubon 94 (March/April 1992): 94. [ Republished in Occasions for Writing . Edited by R. DiYanni and P. C. Hoy II. New York, NY: Thompson Wadsworth, 2007. ISBN: 9781413012064.]
- Doyle, Brian. “Joyas Voladoras.” The American Scholar (Autumn 2004). [ Republished in The Best American Essays 2005 . Edited by Susan Orlean. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 2005. ISBN: 9780618357130.]
- Weed, William Speed. “106 Science Claims and a Truckful of Baloney.” Popular Science 264, no. 5 (2004): 106-115.
- Lightman, Alan. “Prisoner of the Wired World.” In A Sense of the Mysterious . New York, NY: Vintage, 2006, pp. 183-208. ISBN: 9781400078196.
- Walter, Kirn. “The Autumn of the Multitaskers.” In The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2008.
- Conselice, Christopher J. “The Universe’s Invisible Hand.” In The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2008 .
- Dyson, Freeman Dyson. “Our Biotech Future.” In The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2008 .
- Henig, Robin Marantz. “Our Silver-Coated Future.” In The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2008.
- Featherstone, Steve. “The Coming Robot Army.” In The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2008 .
- Rosenbaum, Ron. “How To Trick an Online Scammer into Carving a Computer out of Wood.” In The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2008 .
- Quammen, David. “Deadly Contact.” In The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2008 .
- Patterson, Kevin. “The Patient Predator.” In The Best American Science Writing 2004 . New York, NY: Harper Collins, 2004, pp. 189-200. ISBN: 9780060726409.
- Gawande, Atul. “Desperate Measures.” In The Best American Science Writing 2004 . New York, NY: Harper Collins, 2004, pp. 8-28. ISBN: 9780060726409. (A great essay on the development of surgery in the 2nd half of the 20th century that focuses in on the question of how much risk we are willing to take to save lives.)
- Kanigel, Robert. The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan . New York, NY: Washington Square Press, 1991, pp. 1-7 (prologue); 85-92 and 382-83 (notes). ISBN: 9780671750619. (These excerpts from Rob Kanigel’s biography of the mathematician Ramanujan is a good example of how to write about math concepts.)
- Groopman, Jerome, and Tim Folger. The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2008 . Boston, MA: Mariner Books, 2008. ISBN: 9780618834471.
Prerequisites & course information
Prereq: None U (Spring) 3-0-9 units. HASS-H
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026–2027
- MIT OpenCourseWare ↗Spring 2017
- MIT OCW calendar ↗
- MIT OCW readings ↗
- MIT OCW syllabus ↗
- MIT OpenCourseWare ↗Spring 2009
- MIT OCW readings ↗
- MIT OCW syllabus ↗
- Historical MIT OpenCourseWare offering. Named reading entries and schedule topics are automatically extracted from the linked source pages.
- Historical MIT OpenCourseWare offering. Named reading entries and schedule topics are automatically extracted from the linked source pages.