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ENGL 199 G: Writing in the Natural Sciences (linked with HSERV 100)

Autumn Quarter 2024 MWF 10:30-11:20 FSH 109

ERIN GILBERT eringil@uw.edu Office: Padelford B 28 (LL)

Office Hours: MW 11:20-12:20 FSH Entry Hall (or by appointment)

“Writing is public health. It is what makes public health public. It is the way that we in public health convey our messages, policies, and practices, and it is the way that we prompt action. This central role of writing in public health means that writing in public health must be effective and understandable to a range of audiences, from high-level academia, to public health agencies, to the general public. The health problems facing the world are far too serious for public health writing to be publicly reticent and accessible mainly to experts. Public health writing must be powerful in all the ways that language can be powerful—technically, rhetorically, and in its precision” (Valladares, Riegelman, and Albertine, 2018).

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Students in this course will investigate how public health writing and rhetorical strategies have been used in the past, how they currently shape public health practice and policy, and how they can be applied to emerging issues in the present and future. Students in this course will gain proficiency in close reading, critical thinking, genre analysis, research skills, science communication, and writing for a range of audiences.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Students are able to contextualize and analyze the materials or topics covered, historically, politically, culturally. (Analytical; Writing; Disciplinary)
• Students gain and/or build on basic research traditions and skills. Students develop more familiarity with library resources and electronic or on-line media that may be critical to their improvement. (Analytical; Disciplinary; Writing)
• Students can appreciate the value and challenge of difference and disagreement. (Analytical)
• Students are able to perform competent close readings of course texts and similar texts. (Analytical; Disciplinary; Writing)
• Students understand the investments, contexts, and effects of the kind of close/critical reading skills or approaches under study/use. (Analytical; Disciplinary; Writing)
• Students are acquainted with a range of texts useful to understanding the course topic and to doing future work in this area. (Disciplinary)
• Students have a fundamental knowledge of genres and/or arguments about genre. (Disciplinary)
• Students have an appreciation for and knowledge of literature’s relationship to related areas or disciplines. (Analytical; Disciplinary)
• Students develop more sophisticated discussion and presentation skills in the interest of being better able to construct and defend their own arguments or interpretations. (Analytical; Disciplinary; Writing)
• Students improve their writing skills generally, and with regard to writing about literature and culture. (Analytical; Disciplinary; Writing)

ASSIGNMENTS

Writing Prompts: These short, timed writing exercises support the development of a generative writing practice, supply material for early drafts, and focus thinking around salient questions for course discussions. The goal is to write as much as possible in the time allotted without stopping and without worrying too much about spelling, punctuation, or sentence structure. This is more challenging than it sounds! (Graded as complete or incomplete.) 10%

Course Readings and Discussions: Assigned readings provide models for audience and genre-specific writing about important issues in the natural sciences. Students earn credit by completing the readings, identifying and annotating passages that seem important, and contributing to the in-class discussions. (Graded as complete or incomplete.) 10%

Article Posts for News Archives: Everyone will find and summarize one article for each of the four Public Health News Archives. That means everyone will post four times, roughly once every two weeks (see the course calendar for exact dates.) These posts will provide material for the Public Health Group News Presentations. And yes, everyone still posts an article in the archive when their own group is presenting. (Graded as complete or incomplete.) 10%

Public Health Group News Presentations: Each group works together to synthesize articles, identify a theme, and create an engaging presentation using material from the past weeks’ news archive. (Graded according to rubric.) 10%

Peer Reviews (Materials and Feedback): Credit for the peer review process is assigned to everyone who submits both a draft and feedback during the peer review process. Each peer review session will be a little bit different and there will be several peer reviews incorporated into the sequences leading up to each major project. (Graded as complete or incomplete—draft and feedback required to earn a complete.) 10%

 Major Project 1: The first project sequence focuses on visual rhetoric and propaganda in public health through an investigation of public health maps, social guidance films, and infographics. Each student will conduct research and bring together visual and textual sources to create a compelling poster or video essay on a public health topic of their choosing. (Graded according to rubric.) 20%

Major Project 2: For the second project sequence, students will work together in groups to create research brief on an urgent or emerging public health topic that has escaped widespread notice, highlighting the work of community organizations, following models discussed in class. (Graded according to rubric.) 20%

Reflection Essay: This final assignment helps cement learning, render skills transferrable, and forge a narrative of accomplishments to finish the quarter. (Graded according to rubric.) 10%

COURSE CALENDAR

COURSE POLICIES

PARTICIPATION: In this course, as in most courses about literature, much of the learning happens through a combination of reading and preparing questions at home and in-class discussion and activities, so preparation and attendance are especially important! Participation assignments are generally graded as complete or incomplete and can’t be made up outside of class. That said, you might find that you need to miss class due to an illness or personal emergency. If this happens, you can request to have all in-class participation coursework for the day you missed excused on the day of your absence for up to two days this quarter (if you need to stay home longer, email me for help making a plan). See below for how to handle coursework due outside of class in cases of illness or emergency.

DEADLINES: Assignments designed for the use of classmates (including discussion posts, in-class group activities, and peer review drafts and feedback) won’t be accepted late because they’re no longer useful to the classmates they were intended for after the deadline has passed (see above for what to do if you get sick). If you are struggling to finish the midterm or final on time, reach out to me before the deadline to request more time, and I will almost always grant you a 48-hour extension and you are welcome request further extensions (in 24-hour increments beyond the initial 48) in cases of illness or emergency. If you don’t reach out, I can’t grant an extension, and the assignment grade will drop 10% a day

RELIGIOUS ACCOMODATION: Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/).

THE PWAC & ANTI-RACIST PEDAGOGY: The Program for Writing Across Campus (PWAC) is committed to engaging with anti-racist pedagogies. These pedagogies may take various forms, such as curricular attention to voices, communities, and perspectives that have been historically marginalized inside and beyond academic disciplines; inclusive classroom practices; discussions of racism; and consideration of other forms of prejudice and exclusion. We believe that countering the cultures and practices of racism in an academic institution is fundamental to developing a vibrant intellectual community. We are happy to talk with you about your questions as well as to support student-led initiatives around anti-racist work, and we invite you to contact PWAC faculty member Carrie Matthews at crmatthe@uw.edu, or program director Megan Callow at mcallow@uw.edu. If you’re interested in how teachers of English as a professional community have taken up anti-racist work, check out the National Council of Teachers of English Statement on Anti-Racism to Support Teaching and Learning at http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/antiracisminteaching

ACCESS AND ACCOMODATION: Your experience in this class is important to me. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please activate your accommodations via myDRS so we can discuss how they will be implemented in this course. If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), contact DRS directly to set up an Access Plan. DRS facilitates the interactive process that establishes reasonable accommodations. Contact DRS at disability.uw.edu.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: The University takes academic integrity very seriously. Behaving with integrity is part of our responsibility to our shared learning community. If you’re uncertain about if something is academic misconduct, ask me. I am willing to discuss questions you might have.

Acts of academic misconduct may include but are not limited to:

• Cheating (working collaboratively on quizzes/exams and discussion submissions, sharing answers, and previewing quizzes/exams)
• Plagiarism (representing the work of others as your own without giving appropriate credit to the original author(s))
• Unauthorized collaboration (working with each other on assignments)

Concerns about these or other behaviors prohibited by the Student Conduct Code will be referred for investigation and adjudication by (include information for specific campus office). Students found to have engaged in academic misconduct may receive a zero on the assignment (or other possible outcome).

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY AND AI: The plagiarism policy (above) prohibits “representing the work of others as your own without giving appropriate credit to the original author(s)”  and consequently extends the use of AI for the creation, development, and completion of any part of the assignments and coursework in this class. Using Large Language Models (LLMs) can raise additional ethical consideration too, particularly in regard to citation practice, and I am happy to discuss these and support intentional decision-making. However, as LLMs become increasingly omnipresent, their role in knowledge production and communication is important for all readers and writers to consider. This course provides clearly marked opportunities for using—and thinking through the ethical implications of using—AI in writing, with particular attention to communities participating in public health discourse and policy.

RESOURCES

SAFETY: Call SafeCampus at 206-685-7233 anytime – no matter where you work or study – to anonymously discuss safety and well-being concerns for yourself or others. SafeCampus’s team of caring professionals will provide individualized support, while discussing short- and long-term solutions and connecting you with additional resources when requested.

THE UW FOOD PANTRY provides food to students, staff, and faculty who may be experiencing short-term food insecurity.  It could be the result of a short-term disruption in finances, a food desert in the local community, or a lack of access to other financial assistance. Visitors are welcome to shop in person once per week and receive 2-3 days’ worth of food. The food pantry provides shelf stable products, UW Farm organic produce, ready-to-eat items from campus dining locations, and hygiene products at no cost to visitors.

HUSKY HELPLINE: If you are in crisis and need to talk to someone, Husky HelpLine operated by Telus (formally MySSP) to give students access to same-day, confidential mental health and crisis intervention support, 24/7 and in multiple languages. Husky HelpLine is available to support you to same-day access to a Licensed Mental Health Counselor.

THE Q CENTER facilitates and enhances a brave, affirming, liberatory, and celebratory environment for students, faculty, staff, and alumni of all sexual and gender orientations, identities, and expressions.

THE CLUE WRITING CENTER in Mary Gates Hall (141 suite, CUADSS lobby) is open Sunday to Thursday from 7pm to midnight. The graduate tutors can help you with your claims, organization, and grammar. You do not need to make an appointment, so arrive early and be prepared to wait. 

THE ODEGAARD WRITING AND RESEARCH CENTER is open in Odegaard Library Monday - Thursday 9am to 9pm, Friday 9am to 4:30pm, and Sunday 12pm to 9pm. This writing center provides a research-integrated approach to writing instruction. Find more information and/or make an appointment on the website: depts.washington.edu/owrc.