J226 Science Reporting

This course offers an accessible introduction to science reporting and story-telling. Students in the course will learn what constitutes the science beat, and learn, on or off that beat, how to find the dramatic and compelling narratives in scientific inquiry and discovery.

Climate change, biodiversity, food and agriculture, public health, and other critical areas of inquiry all begin with science: This class is intended to give you a basic facility with scientific literature and sharpen your attention to the narratives contained in the insights and revelations of scientists. We’ll have guest lecturers talking about their cutting edge research and critical readings of science writers. We’ll be sharpening your reporting and story-telling skills so you can tell compelling, vivid narratives rooted in or backed up by science.

Because this is a graduate-level course, we will go beyond reporting basics to think critically about science reporting, and interrogate the social inequities that determine who gets protected from hazards and who does not. We’ll offer tips on the trap-doors to watch out for as the natural and social sciences become contested territory. And we’ll probe into the political, economic, and sociocultural forces that shape science news stories and public attitudes. Journalism graduate students working in all mediums are welcome, as are graduate students in the sciences and other disciplines on campus.