STS 2133W Perspectives on Science and Technology Reporting

3 Credits

The effective communication of scientific and technological ideas is essential in a society and culture as influenced by science and technology as our own. At some point in their careers, scientists and engineers will be called on to convey technical concepts and ideas to each other, to government agencies, to private corporations, and to the public at large. These job functions are required for various reasons, including: (1) to support the marketing and public relations efforts of a company, (2) to provide the latest state-of-the-art information for the benefit of peers working in a specific industry and (3) to demonstrate to shareholders and customers the achievements attained in the corporation’s research and development laboratories. Moreover, non-experts in technical fields may be called on to participate in these and similar discussions. This course addresses these issues by having students study, research and write articles about three technologies where R&D activity is proceeding at a rapid pace: telecommunications, plastics materials development and processing, and energy.

Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements
Note: Satisfies a Humanities and Social Sciences Elective.