Unit 1 Assignment Sequence

The Natural Sciences: Thesis and Antithesis

The natural sciences are often viewed as disciplines based on cold, hard fact, in contrast to the humanities which appear to be based on subjective opinion. In this unit we will challenge this view by examining controversy in the scientific community. What is up for debate in the natural sciences? Are these disciplines really as factual and as rational as popular perception would have them to be?


Feeder 1.1

Note: You can find instructions for accessing Nature online here.

For this unit's first feeder assignment you will be studying the editorial section of the journal Nature, a publication known for bringing academic work in the natural sciences to a wider audience.

For your first feeder assignment, select an editorial from a recent issue of Nature (click "Archive" on the left-hand menu to access older issues, then when you click on the contents of an individual issue you can choose from the sections labeled "Editorial" or "Opinion."). Begin by determining the author's thesis statement. What is the controversy or debate into which s/he is entering? What is his or her position? How do other scientists or writers differ in their opinions?

Once you have determined the author's thesis statement, do research using the library and the web to find an author who expresses a contrary opinion. Write a post (length: equivalent to 1-2 typed pages) summarizing this controversy for your blog's audience, noting the main theses of each article and what kinds of evidence and arguments are employed by each. Is one more convincing than the other? Feel free to express your opinion if you deem it appropriate.

Feeder 2.2

While Nature lies in the fuzzy space between a professional and popular journal, for your second feeder assignment, you will need to repackage information from a current academic journal in the natural sciences for your blog's audience.

You might begin your research by searching the Academic Search Premier Database (the first item on the list here) for topics that interest you and are relevant to your group's blog. If you find an article that interests you, determine whether it is from a scholarly journal (if you need help consult the library tutorial we completed in class). Also, please choose an article that has been published within the last  year.

Once you are certain that it is a scholarly journal, begin thinking about how you will translate this article for your audience. What are the differences in rhetoric between the two media? What information will you include and exclude? Will you need any information not contained in the academic journal article (hint: probably!)? After you have thought about these questions write a post (length: equivalent 2-3 typed pages) summarizing this research for your blog's audience, doing your best to make the information interesting and relevant to them.

Since I will be evaluating whether your source is truly an academic journal, please cite your original article in a manner that allows me to find it quickly and efficiently.

Unit 1 Project

For your Unit 1 Project, rather than summarizing an academic controversy, you will enter into a controversy yourself. Select another editorial from Nature, preferably one with which you disagree, and write a post (length: equivalent to 3-5 typed pages) arguing against the author's thesis. Do you whatever you may need to make your argument convincing, whether it is attacking the logic of the original editorial, gathering contrary evidence or making some other type of appeal to your audience.

A successful post will (in order of importance):

1. Fully and adequately summarize the thesis of the original editorial while developing a sophisticated thesis in response to it.

2. Contain a wealth of evidence from authoritative sources in support of its thesis while explaining away the counter-arguments of the original author's thesis.

3. Cite all sources in a manner appropriate for the blog and its audience.

4. Be written in a lively, engaging and authoritative style.

5. Be free of errors in spelling and grammar as well as visual formatting.