Course Syllabus

Jump to Today

 

 

Date

 Session Topic/Activity Purpose and Content
Sept. 7 1 Course introduction

Preview of UN1360; science as a career; getting to know each other
Sept. 14 2 Becoming a scientist

Stories and ideas that have motivated people to pursue science
Sept. 21 3 Purpose of science Why science is important and why governments and others support it
Sept. 28 4 Science Journalism

Guests: Jon Weiner, Columbia School of Journalism

              Steve Hall, NYU School of Journalism
Oct. 5 5 Credibility of science What are the failures and uncertainties of science and their consequences?
Oct. 12 6 Equity in science Issues of gender and ethnicity in the practice and application of science
Oct. 19 7 Disseminating and appraising science

How scientists communicate and publish and how their work is evaluated
Oct. 26 8 Ownership of science Intellectual property and credit for discoveries in public and private sectors
Nov. 2 8 Science and governance What accounts for outcomes of the Covid-19 pandemic?
Nov. 9 10 Scientific communities How science is funded; changes in the demography of science
Nov. 16 11 Science for the public How science is represented in the arts
Nov. 23 Academic Holiday No Class
Nov. 30 12 Controversies in science Embryo and stem cell research; vaccines; gene editing; genomics; etc.
Dec. 7 13 Student presentations
Dec. 23 Term papers due
Jan. 5 Term papers returned Comments and grades included on term papers (or P/F)

 

Instructor: Harold Varmus MD (varmus@med.cornell.edu)

Mondays 4:10-6:40pm, Location TBD

        

Note: this syllabus will be supplemented with more details---

reading lists and specific instructions for each class---a week or more before each session during the course.

Information, as well as student and instructor blog entries, will be posted on the course website: https://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/varmusspring2017/ (to be moved to a course Canvas page)

Course Summary:

Course Summary
Date Details Due