Instructor: Dr. Christopher Rose

Office hours: MW 9-11:30; look for me in my office and lab; email me for an appointment outside of office hours.

Office: Burruss 213 Lab: Burruss 256

Phone: 568-6666 email: rosecs@jmu.edu

Webpage: http://csm.jmu.edu/biology/rosecs/gsci104.html

Please BE AWARE of the ANNOUNCEMENT PAGE as this is where you should look to find out about class cancellations, unplanned changes in scheduling, and any other "breaking news" that I cannot communicate to you directly.

The media and Hollywood movies in particular have long exploited biology as a source of bankable plot material. This trend has intensified in recent years as a result of a steadily accelerating rate of biological discoveries and advances in biotechnology. Smart film makers capitalize on the publicity generated by recent discoveries to produce movies with science-based plots that are timely, engaging, and at some level credible to an increasingly aware public. In view of their mass appeal, such movies play a significant role in society as disseminators of scientific facts and misinformation. They thus serve as a useful starting point for exploring various aspects of the relationship between science and the public perception of science. Students in this course will learn about how science is done through assigned readings and group discussions on various biological topics drawn from Hollywood movies. Students will additionally explore public misconceptions and naivetes about science that are perpetuated by Hollywood movies, as well as the extent to which such movies borrow from, or in some cases, even predict scientific fact. This course will require weekly screenings of a feature-length movie outside of class hours.

Films and topics are organized around two themes: Transformations in Biology and Human Self-determination. Transformations in form and identity are a popular narrative device in mythology, literature, films, and comic books. Transformation is also a ubiquitous property of life and Nature, the most conspicuous examples being the developmental changes that occur during the lifetime of individual organisms and the evolutionary changes that occur in the emergence of new species. Biotechnology allows for additional avenues of transformation, such as the integration of two separate organisms into one at the genetic and cellular levels, the genetic modification of existing species, and the potential recreation of extinct species. Discussion of films that feature different biological transformations will focus on distinguishing between science fiction and science fact, understanding the uses of the underlying principles in scientific research, and exploring real world analogies to such fictional concepts as fly-human chimeras and reconstructed dinosaurs.

It has been argued that our one unique driving force as a species is a need for self-understanding and ultimately self-determination. In biological terms, this need is expressed as a search for three things: our origins, the physiochemical basis of our existence, and a "companion" species. The most important conceptual hurdle of the first search, the articulation of a theory and mechanism of evolution, was crossed by Darwin and Wallace in 1859. Although the application of this theory to humans is still not universally accepted, research on hominid fossils and genetic variation in humans continues to generate evidence in support of our evolutionary origin from a more primitive ape-like ancestor. The second search was effectively initiated by Watson and Crick's discovery of the structure of DNA in 1953. Subsequent research has brought us at frightening speed to a present where it is possible to manipulate our own DNA and thus "play God" by eliminating the natural processes of mutation and natural selection from our future evolution. Although so far unsuccessful, the final search is gaining momentum in two directions: the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and the search for extraterrestrial life, and hopefully extraterrestrial intelligence (EI). One goal of developing AI (and the one most commonly exploited in films) is to produce a cognitive capacity that would support characteristically human qualities such as self-awareness. Our desire for finding EI has been partially satisfied by the creation of a wide array of fictional aliens, the visualization of which raises questions about how our perception of life is constrained by our earthbound frame of reference. The three searches will be explored using films that highlight some of their key events, processes, interpretations, and limitations.

Course time and place: Section 16 meets on Tuesday 9:30-10.45, section 17 on Tuesday 11-12:15, section 18 on Thursday 9:30-10.45, and section 19 on Thursday 11-12:15. Lectures and exams are in Burruss 336.

Screenings: Screenings are on most Thursdays at 7-9 pm in Burruss 238. Each film will be discussed in the class following its screening. If students are unable to attend the screening time, they are required to view the film on their own time in the Media Resources room in the basement of the library. Each film will be held on reserve at the library for a week-long period ending on the day of discussion for that film.

Questionnaires and readings: For the first three films, students are required to complete a questionnaire and hand it in to me immediately following the Thursday night screening. Students who can not attend a Thursday night screening are required to obtain the questionnaire for that film from the course webpage before the screening, complete it after viewing the film on their own time, and return it to me before the day of the class discussion of that film. No credit will be given for questionnaires returned on or after the day of the class discussion for that film. All films require some reading assignments which must be done before the day of the class discussion. The reading material is listed on Course topics and readings: some articles are available through links on this page, all others are on reserve at the library.

Required texts: None

"The Biology of Science Fiction Cinema" by Mark C. Glassy

"The Science of Jurassic Park" by Rob Desalle and David Lindley

"The Biology of Star Trek" by Susan C. Jenkins, Robert Jenkins, and Lawrence Krauss

"To Seek out New Life: The Biology of Star Trek" by Athena Andreadis

Grading and exams: Evaluations will be based on a midterm exam (15%), cumulative final exam (25%), preparation and leadership of one class discussion (30%), and weekly quizzes (30%). Exams will test basic understanding of concepts and ideas raised by the films and readings. The quizzes will be a general question on the readings and/or movie that is announced at the beginning of each of 10 class periods (30 %). The responses, which are expected to be 1-5 sentences in length, will be graded as either 0 (not done), 1 (wrong information), 2 (partially correct), or 3 (fully correct). Students are allowed, but not required, to bring hardcopies of all readings to class for completing these quizzes. For the last six topics, quizz questions will be based on the movie and/or the reading(s) bracketed by **.

Regular class attendance and completion of questionnaires are required! Failure to attend more than ONE class without a valid excuse (see below) or complete more than ONE questionnaire will result in a reduction of your final grade by one letter.

Class discussions: Each student will be required to work with 1-2 other students to lead one class discussion on the scientific topics raised by a film in the second half of the course. This requires an advance screening of the film and possibly some additional research to summarize the scientific topics involved and the key issues raised by them. Students must cover the topics that are listed on the topics page. For their presentations, students are strongly encouraged to

a/ start their preparations at least 2 weeks before their presentation,

b/ be creative with their presentation format, e.g., have class debates or panel discussions on key issues,

c/ where possible, incorporate additional information from other movies, novels and topical articles from the web, magazines, newspapers, etc.

d/ synthesize material from the readings into a well organized and coherent body of information (i.e., do not just read the articles or portions thereof),

and e/ seek clarification of the ideas involved by meeting with the professor beforehand.

Discussions will be graded on the basis of 1/ research effort (10%), 2/ style and organization of the presentation (10%), and 3/ depth and breadth of coverage of the relevant scientific information and its social implications (10%).

Missed classes: If you have a valid excuse (official school business, sickness with doctor’s note, death in family) for missing a class, contact me by phone or email before the class and your attendance record will not be affected by your absence. If the class involves a quizz or exam and you contact me beforehand, you will either be given a make-up quizz or exam or have your grade calculated on the basis of the remaining evaluations. If you do not have a valid excuse or fail to contact me before the missed exam, your grade will be zero.

Honor Code: All students are expected to be familiar with and abide by the JMU Honor code. Consult your JMU Student Handbook or JMU Undergraduate Catalog for a full description of the code.

Course topics and readings

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