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Below are two possible trajectories on which to approach this inquiry. Detailed explanations of each trajectory, readings, and assignment sheets are offered in links below.1
Trajectory 1
Trajectory 2
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Select teaching materials can be found here.
TRAJECTORY 2
In this trajectory, students consider how scientific information works in public discourse. They consider questions that may be philosophical (for example, how is science related to reality? who are we as humans?), ideological (is science compatible with religion?), or ethical (what should the limits of genetic engineering be?). The class considers the rhetorical nature of scientific research as compared to research in other disciplines; public understandings and uses of scientific findings; and the transformative power of scientific knowledge for understanding ourselves as humans. Students explore what sort of research is advisable, or possible, for citizens who have an interest in making informed critical decisions about public policy relating to scientific matters.
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Along with the WRT 205 foundational readings provided here, below are readings that may be useful for this trajectory:
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Casti, John L. Paradigms Lost: Tackling the Unanswered Mysteries of Science. Avon, 1989. [Preface and Chapter 1, “Faith, Hope, and Asperity”][Note: Casti, later in his career was exposed as a flagrant plagiarist, to a bizarre degree. Still, this chapter is useful for looking at science writing.] [PDF]
Hult, Christine. [Inquiry Processes in the Disciplines.] Excerpts from Researching and Writing Across the Curriculum (2nd ed.). Wadsworth, 1990. [PDF]
Quinn, Daniel. Chapter 7 from Ishmael. Bantam, 1991. [PDF]
MacLennan, Jennifer. “What Is Rhetoric?” Mr. Bauld’s English, http://www.mrbauld.com/rhetoric.
Martin, Emily. “The Egg and Sperm: How Science Has Constructed a Romance Based on Stereotypical Male/Female Roles.” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, vol.16, no. 31, 1991, pp. 485-501. [PDF]
Synthesis Essay
Brizendine, Louann. Chapters from The Female Brain. Harmony Books, 2006. [PDF]
Brizendine, Louann. Chapters from The Male Brain. Three Rivers Press, 2010. [PDF]
Fine, Cordelia. Selections from Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference. W.W. Norton & Company, 2010. Intro, [PDF]
Eagleman, David M. “Life After the Monarchy.” Chapter 7 from Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain. Vintage/Random House, 2011. 193-224. [PDF]
Henig, Robin Marantz. “Rethinking Gender.” National Geographic, Jan. 2017, pp. 49-72. [PDF]
Joel, Daphna. “Are Brains Male or Female?” YouTube, uploaded by TEDx Talks, 8 Oct. 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYpDU040yzc.
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Achenbach, Joel. “The War on Science: The Age of Disbelief.” National Geographic, Mar. 2015, pp. 34-47. [PDF]
Select teaching materials can be found here.