Time and location

Class: MWF 10:10—11:00, Warren 231

Additional class information and readings are available on the class website at blackboard.cornell.edu.

Course goals and format

Environmental issues . . . public health . . . scientific research. In each of these areas, communication plays a fundamental role. From the mass media to individual conversations with doctors, from technical journals to textbooks, from lab notes to the World Wide Web, communication helps define individual problems, social issues and research findings. We will examine the institutional and intellectual contexts, processes, and practical constraints on communication in the life sciences (CILS).

To accomplish these goals, we will look at many examples of communication in the life sciences. We will read academic analyses of CILS (indeed, learning to read academic articles is an important sub-goal of the course), and most of our class discussions will be devoted to these readings. Bulletin boards, assignments, prelims, and a final reflective paper will give us a chance to comment on and analyze science communication.

This course is fundamentally one in which you as students will explore these issues; the instructor's role is to guide the discussion. Thus you should expect to read, write, and talk a lot in this course.

Assignments and grades

Your work in this course will be assessed in four ways: ungraded review of your bulletin board postings and participation in class, grades on three take-home assignments, grades on three in-class preliminary examinations ("midterms" at most colleges and universities, "prelims" here at Cornell) and a final paper. Specific due dates are given in the schedule (below). Be aware that some due dates, assignments, and grading weights may change as the course evolves over the semester; check the "What's new?" page for updated information. All assignments are required.

Regular class and bulletin board participation (20%)

Talking in class and posting thoughts on the bulletin board provide an opportunity for you to ask questions, to note interesting readings or observations, to comment about things that happened in class or that you want to bring up in class. If you save the bulletin board postings, they (like a journal) can provide a record for you of your thoughts and the thoughts of others about the course and the course material--a record that can help you sort out ideas as you go back later in the semester or after the course is over to review what you learned. We expect that you'll post on the bulletin board at least 12 times over the course of the semester – and more is better.

Take-home assignments (5% each, for 15% total)
Prelims (15% each, for 45% total)
Final paper (20%)

Rules

I don't have many rules. But not following the ones I do have can have serious consequences, up through failing the course.

You are responsible for information distributed in class and updated on the class website.
Be alert. Contribute to class.
Assignments need to be typed, double-spaced, using normal type-fonts (Times Roman, 12 point, is always a good choice).
Assignments must be turned in on paper (not via e-mail), and will be graded down for being late.
No plagiarizing or other cheating. You are responsible for knowing the Cornell Code of Academic Integrity. If you're not sure what that is, or what constitutes "plagiarizing" or "cheating," explore the Code of Academic Integrity website, and feel free to ask for guidance.

Weekly schedule, readings, assignments

The following schedule is tentative and subject to change.

Readings are on the Internet or on the password-protected class website on Blackboard

Week

Date

Topic and readings

23 Jan

25 Jan

27 Jan

Introduction : Issues in CILS

Why communicate?

Merton, R. (1973). The Normative Structure of Science. In N. Storer (Ed.), The Sociology of Science: Theoretical and Empirical Investigations. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Mitroff, I. (1974). Norms and Counter-Norms in a Select Group of the Apollo Moon Scientists: A Case Study of the Ambivalence of Scientists. American
Sociological Review, 39(August), 579-595

What happens in practice: the peer review system:

Cornell University guide to different types of journals

http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/skill20.html

(part of Cornell's general guide to research, at

http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/tutorial.html)

Wikipedia introduction to peer review

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peer_review

A scientist comments on peer review:

Lawrence, P. A. (2003). The politics of publication. Nature, 422, 259-261.

30 Jan

1 Feb

3 Feb

Models of science communication

What happens when information flows in ways that do not conform to the traditional model of lab-> journal-> public? For example: Does public advocacy of specific research outcomes compromise good science? What happens when public debate depends on good scientific information? Two articles on Christopher Reeve and spinal cord research, and a comment on cloning:

Groopman, J. (2003, 10 November). The Reeve Effect. New Yorker, 82ff.
Pearson, H. (2003). In search of a miracle. Nature, 423, 112-113.
Wilmut, I. (2003). Cloning claim is science fiction, not science. Science, 299, 344.

What about censoring of scientific information, especially in the interests of national security or political pressure?

Enserink, M. (2002). Entering the twilight zone of what to censor. Science, 298, 1548.
Malakoff, D. (2003). Researchers urged to self-censor sensitive data. Science, 299, 321.
Blakemore, C., Dawkins, R., Noble, D., & Yudkin, M. (2003). Is a scientific boycott ever justified? Nature, 421, 314.

What if we trust scientists to circulate information before it's peer reviewed? What if we change the whole system of who pays for communicating science information?

Ginsparg, P. (2003). Can peer review be better focused? http://arxiv.org/blurb/pg02pr.html
Wikipedia on open access: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_access
Public Library of Science FAQ: http://www.plos.org/faq.html
Myths about public access: http://www.biomedcentral.com/openaccess/inquiry/myths/

FRIDAY: Guest speaker, Paul Ginsparg, founder of ArXiv

6 Feb

8 Feb

10 Feb

Contexts for science communication

Making sense of it all: communication theory and models of science communication

Review of communication theory.
Lewenstein, B. (1995). From Fax to Facts: Communication in the Cold Fusion Saga. Social Studies of Science, 25(3), 403-436.

An example: Bee-Eaters material

BBC. (1989). The Bee-Eaters [Nature] [video and television script]. London: British Broadcasting Corporation.
Demong, N. J., & Emlen, S. T. (1991, December (Winter)). Family Ties. Living Bird, 26-31.
Emlen, K. (1988, January). Birds That Eat Bees. Ranger Rick, 22, 36-40.
Emlen, S. T., & Wrege, P. H. (1988). The Role of Kinship in Helping Decisions Among White-Fronted Bee-Eaters. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 23, 305-315

FRIDAY, 11 FEBRUARY: Assignment #1 due

13 Feb

15 Feb

17 Feb

Environment: Nature writing

Communication about the environment isn't just about politics, it's also about creating attitudes toward the natural world. Some examples include:

Leopold, A. (1949). A Sand County Almanac: Essays on Conservation from Round River. New York: Oxford University Press. (Selections; also, here's a website with classic quotations from Leopold)
Carson, R. (1962). Silent Spring. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. (Selections)
Ackerman, D. (1991). Why Leaves Turn Color in the Fall. In A Natural History of the Senses. New York: Random House.

And what does it mean? Selections from:

Shanahan, J., & McComas, K. (1999). Nature stories : depictions of the environment and their effects. Cresskill, N.J.: Hampton Press.

20 Feb

22 Feb

24 Feb

Environment: Political action

What role does communication play in public opinion about environmental issues?

An analytical approach:

Ader, C. R. (1995). A longitudinal study of agenda setting for the issue of environmental pollution. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 72(2), 300-311.

Some examples: Check out websites from:

Greenpeace <http://www.greenpeace.org/>
National Resources Defense Council <http://www.nrdc.org/>
National Center for Policy Analysis <http://www.ncpa.org/pi/enviro/>
Democratic National Committee on the environment <http://www.democrats.org/issues/environment.html>
Republican National Committee on the environment <http://www.gop.com/GOPAgenda/AgendaPage.aspx?id=1>

27 Feb

1 Mar

3 Mar

MONDAY, 27 FEBRUARY: In-class Prelim #1

Environment and Health: Risk communication

Enough research has been done on risk to know what the basic recommendations are:

CDC Health Risk Communication Primer <http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HEC/primer.html>
The Peter Sandman Risk Communication website <http://www.psandman.com/>
National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Risk Perception and Communication. (1989). Improving risk communication. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. <Excerpts><The whole shebang>

Yet problems continually arise -- consider these recent examples: Mad cow disease, SARS, bird flu

6 Mar

8 Mar

10 Mar

Health communication: Public Health

As in risk communication, the basics of public health communication are pretty well understood:

Atkin, C. K. (2001). Theory and Principles of Media Health Campaigns. In R. E. Rice & C. K. Atkin (Eds.), Public Communication Campaigns (3rd ed., pp. 49-68). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Atkin, C., & Arkin, E. B. (1990). Issues and Initiatives in Communicating Health Information. In C. Atkin & L. Wallack (Eds.), Mass Communication and Public Health (pp. 13-40). Newbury Park, Ca.: Sage.

And yet, again, problems continually arise:

AIDS (see, for example, Altman, L. K. (2005). A Public Health Quandary: When Should the Public Be Told? New York Times. New York City: F5.)
Violence
Flu vaccine

13 Mar

15 Mar

17 Mar

Health communication: Doctor-Patient Communication

For many people, the most regular interaction they'll have with science communication involves their personal health. Some key concepts are in:

Kreps, G. L., & Thornton, B. C. (1992). Health communication : theory & practice (2nd ed.). Prospect Heights, Ill.: Waveland Press. (Selections)

Some of the biggest challenges come at times of stress, such as death or dying:

Fein, E. (1997, 5 March). Silent at approach of death, families worsen pain of loss. New York Times, pp. A1, B4.

FRIDAY, 17 MARCH: Assignment #2 due

SPRING BREAK

27 Mar

29 Mar

31 Mar

Science literacy

What does the public actually know about science? What should it know? How can we distinguish between "science literacy," "public understanding of science," and "public engagement in science"?

Shen, Benjamin S. P. 1975. Science Literacy and the Public Understanding of Science. In Communication of Scientific Information, edited by S. Day. Basel: Karger.
National Science Board. (2002). Science and Technology: Public Attitudes and Public Understanding. In Science & Engineering Indicators--2002 (Chapter 7 and appendix). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Office of Science and Technology, & Wellcome Trust. (2000). Science and the Public: A Review of Science Communication and Public Attitudes to Science in Britain. London: Wellcome Trust. (Excerpts published in Public Understanding of Science, vol. 10)
House of Lords. (2000). Science and Society. London: UK House of Lords.

3 Apr

5 Apr

7 Apr

Science journalism

Science journalism is...what? Some see it as a profession dedicated to informing the public about the latest news of science. Others see it as a tool for educating the public. Some introductions:

Advice for beginning science writers (from a discussion among members of the National Association of Science Writers)
The website of the National Association of Science Writers
The website of the Society of Environmental Journalists

And still others call it "perky cheerleading" for science -- and that's not intended as a compliment:

Crewdson, J. (1993, Winter). 'Perky Cheerleaders': By Accepting Research Reports Without Adequate Checking, Science Writers Do a Disservice to the Public. Nieman Reports, 47, 11-17.
Okrent, Daniel. 2004. Analysts Say Experts Are Hazardous to Your Newspaper (Public Editor column). New York Times, 31 October, 2.

10 Apr

12 Apr

14 Apr

Images of science in the media

Images of science appear throughout the media -- not just what we get from reading the news, but also images in movies, on television, at EPCOT, and so on. Is the key image one of bubbling beakers and wild hair? Or is there some other way of describing the images out there?

Kirby, D. A. (2003). Science advisors, representation, and Hollywood films. Molecular Interventions, 3(2), 54-60.
Kirby, D. A. (2005). The devil in our DNA: A brief history of eugenic themes in science fiction films. In P. Wald & J. Clayton (Eds.), The narratives of genomics.

You can also see collections of commentaries on movie science at

BadAstronomy.com

Bad movie physics

Then there's the question of whether the image of science would improve if people saw more of it on TV:

The Cable Science Network

17 Apr

19 Apr

21 Apr

MONDAY, 13 APRIL: In-class Prelim #2

Science Museums

What is the role of science museums? What interaction is there between research and exhibition? How do "traditional" museums (with collections of stuff) differ from "science centers" (hands-on, interactive science museums)? What's the difference between presenting "packed down" science and exhibiting "cutting edge research"?

Chittenden, D., Farmelo, G., & Lewenstein, B. (Eds.). (2004). Creating Connections: Museums and the Public Understanding of Current Research. Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press. (Selections)
Lewenstein, B. V., & Allison-Bunnell, S. W. (2000). Creating knowledge in science museums: Serving both public and scientific communities. In B. Schiele & E. H. Koster (Eds.), Science Centers for This Century. St. Foy, Quebec: Editions Multimondes.

24 Apr

26 Apr

28 Apr

Citizen Science

In the last 15 years, a new approach to public engagement has emerged, in which volunteers and school children fully participate in science. They collect the data that the scientists need to do their work. What are the opportunities and challenges associated with that approach?

Krasny, M., & Bonney, R. (2004). Environmental education through citizen science and participatory action research. In E. A. Johnson & M. J. Mappin (Eds.), Environmental Education or Advocacy: Perspectives of Ecology & Education in Environmental Education. New York/Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.
Lewenstein, Bruce. 2004. What does citizen science accomplish? Paper read at CNRS colloquium, 8 June, at Paris, France.
Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology Citizen Science website

FRIDAY, 28 APRIL: Assignment #3 due

1 May

3 May

5 May

Wrap-up: What have we learned?

So, what have we learned? This week, we'll look at recent scientific publications, recent science news, recent science websites -- in other words, recent science -- and see what role communication plays in science.

PRELIM #3 will be take-home, due 5 May

FINALS

17 May

Wednesday, May 17, 11:30 am 

  FINAL PAPER DUE

Last modified: 30 January 2006
Maintained by: Bruce V. Lewenstein

Instructor

Time and location

Course goals and format

Assignments and grades

Rules