Brave New Crops 2007 Course Information

Coverage and Perspective. Late in the 20th century, after many years of speculation, scientists finally began to design life forms at the genetic level.  This development may be on par with the Industrial Revolution in terms of the breadth and complexity of its implications and effects.  This course examines a range of these issues.  But genetic modification (mainly of crops -- animals are a different kettle of fish that we only discuss briefly) is just the starting point; it isn't a course just on genetic modification or agriculture, any more than a course on the Industrial Revolution would just be about factory design.  Topics will include biocolonialism; corporate impacts on academic research; ethics in academic research; causes of suicides by farmers; the ownership of life forms; the WTO and politics of intellectual property control; new developments in biology; the manipulation of public debates; new differences between countries such as US and England; the implications of overpopulation and the causes of hunger; and the politics of regulating the environment.

The course is not designed to defend or attack biotechnology, but rather to understand it and use it to help understand ways in which the world is changing. We will consider arguments on both sides, and move well beyond the polarized debate to reach a more informed perspective.  All students, even those with strong convictions on these topics, will be pushed to be open minded and to give serious consideration to opposing perspectives -- to look for merit in the strongest arguments, rather than looking for flaws in the weakest arguments.

This course is based in the anthropology department but it ignores disciplinary boundaries, delving into such fields as molecular biology, sociology of science, agronomy, intellectual property law, archaeology, ecology, economics, and media studies. It features several guest speakers, including important contributions from Washington University's biology department.

Course Format. The course is experimental and it is different every year. It will feature field trips, a web-based discussion forum, and a group of outside experts. Use of the web is integral to the course. Some lecture notes will be posted, linked to the lecture title in the syllabus, usually following each class. These notes are not meant to substitute for your own lecture notes, but rather as study aids. The messages page is required reading; it is used for discussion and to communicate about class assignments, schedule changes, etc. Please check it regularly.  Discussion and questions are encouraged during lectures.

Readings. All students will read Dan Charles' Lords of the Harvest and either Martineau's First Fruit or Kloppenburg's First the Seed (chaps 1-7, 10-11); Martineau is recommended for biology students and Kloppenburg for social science students. Other readings will be on Eres of online elsewhere. Assignments will be on the on the syllabus webpage, which will be updated throughout the course. 

Grading. Grades are based on 4 tests, the details of which follow (weighting given in parens):

Quizzes typically contain a few short answer or short essay questions.  Exams contain a mixture of question types, such as identifications, multiple choice, and essays of various lengths. All exams will have at least 1 bonus question based on recent GM-related news; bonus points are pretty useless but they are occasionally used to raise grades of students near cutoffs. 

Students must take all exams at the scheduled time except in cases of a death in the immediate family, debilitating illness, or required participation in another school event (e.g. varsity athletic teams).  Requests to be excused from exams to accommodate flight schedules will be cheerfully granted, on the one condition that hell has frozen over.   Any special arrangements regarding tests or grades absolutely must have an email "paper trail" (for instance, if you are excused from a test because of athletics or sickness, even if we agree on this verbally, it must be established in emails. 

Quizzes and exams are graded by the graduate TA's with input from the professor.  If you have questions about scoring, getting tests back, etc., please see the TA.

Course grades are assigned on a modified curve, typically with around 75-80% of the class in the A-B range (it's grade inflation but whaddya gonna do).  No extra-credit assignments will be accepted.  Class contributions may also be taken into account for students near grade cutoffs.

Expectations.  The professor and TA's put a lot of time and special effort into this course.  We will do everything we can to make it engaging, relevant, rigorous, and sometimes even entertaining. We will grade tests conscientiously and relatively quickly.  We will make ourselves available during office hours, and/or see you by appointment.  We also have some requests of you.  Out of respect for the teaching staff and other students, you will be expected to:

Note that we do not take attendance, and so class attendance is not mandatory.  If you are in the mood to do email, facebook, etc., you are free to do so in numerous locations around campus; this class just isn't one of them.

The 400 level course. 4322 is the same course except that the student will prepare a major research paper on an approved topic.  Weightings will be:

Admission to 4322 requires graduate standing, although undergraduates with demonstrated experience in independent research and also knowledge of the subject projects may be admitted.  Interested undergraduates should email me and make a case for your ability to take on the independent research project, including a synopsis of the topic you want to tackle. 

Dates for the research project will be 4/13 for the draft and 5/9 for the final paper. The draft will be graded principally on content, including organization and quality of the research, argument, and writing. The final draft will be graded again on these criteria but also on form (references, etc.) and improvements based on my critique. (So a draft that is graded B may rise to an A in the final form, or could drop to a C if it is not improved.)