Communication in the Life Sciences
Wednesday 2:15-5:15
Blake 131
Cook Campus
Fall 2006
11:374:435
Andrew Pleasant

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Rutgers Human Ecology Department

Introduction...

Communication plays a fundamental role in science. In environmental policy discussions, public health directives, or the continuation of scientific research itself, progress is created and documented through acts of communication. From the mass media to individual conversations, from technical journals to textbooks, from lab notes to the World Wide Web, communication creates and defines social issues and research findings. In this course, we will examine the institutional and intellectual contexts, processes, promises, and practical constraints of communication in the life sciences (CILS).

In accomplishing these goals, we will look at many examples of communication in and about the life sciences. We will learn how to read scientific articles, make our way through an overview of the many facets of CILS, and study the communication processes of cooperation and conflict in life sciences.

Class discussions are a central component of the course and will focus not only on the assigned readings but also on any scientific developments of interest that occur during the semester. Students will write brief comments and an extended analysis of CILS.

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

Last update 2-3-2007