Journalism course available for Fall 2008

JOUR-J460 SCIENCE WRITING, 28797, 3 credits (Health and environmental writing included!) Fall Semester 2008 T, TH 2:30-3:45 p.m. Ernie Pyle hall, room 157. Professor Holly Stocking.
No pre-requisites. Open to any undergraduate student.

CONCERNED OR CONFUSED ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING? SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES? THE CONTROVERSY OVER FATS IN THE DIET? You are not alone. Many people are, and writers who can help explain these and other science-related topics to the public are sorely needed in the media today.

J460 will help you to help develop skills in REPORTING and WRITING ABOUT SCIENCE - including the SOCIAL SCIENCES and science related to HEALTH and the ENVIRONMENT -- for newspapers, magazines, online media, and other media outlets. (It's not has hard as you may think!)

If you take this course, you will also meet many science writers and be introduced to the many kinds of jobs there are out there for people who can write well about science for the general public. There is a strong chance we will even take a trip to Palo Alto, California, to attend the annual meeting of the National Association of Science Writers; the School of Journalism will subsidize this trip.

YOU WILL ENJOY AND BENEFIT from this course if you have an interest in or curiosity about science, and just as importantly, if you have been told by someone other than your mother or roommate that you are a clear, engaging writer. Any journalism student who fits this description can join the course (even underclassmen, though you may want to talk to me first). Students elsewhere in the university are also welcome. If you have any questions about whether or not you "fit" the course, please feel free to email the professor.

The professor, S. Holly Stocking, worked as a journalist for the Los Angeles Times, the Minneapolis Tribune, the Associated Press, and a national research center before earning her PhD in mass communications. She has done research on the public communication of science, co-authored three science-based books, and written numerous scholarly articles on communicating science to the general public. She also has consulted for numerous science organizations including the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Association for Psychological Science (APS), and the Aspen Global Change Institute. She is a fellow of AAAS and a member of FACET, the Faculty Colloquium for Excellence in Teaching at Indiana University.

For more information, e-mail stocking@indiana.edu