Admission requirements
Not applicable
Description
Climate change. Genetically modified foods. Pandemics. Obesity. Post-traumatic stress disorder. Science issues of global proportions affect our lives as citizens of this planet. Journalists may help us make sense of these issues, enabling us to make informed decisions about policy and our personal lives. This course looks at the science–media–society nexus, focusing on news media as an intermediary between science and society.
The course will bring critical sociological and rhetorical perspectives to bear on current developments and controversies in this field. How news media, policymakers, scientists, and citizens deal with truth, risk, and uncertainty will be a major issue. Special emphasis will be put on the challenges to traditional expertise and authority posed by the internet and social media.
Course objectives
After completion of this course, students have gain knowledge of:
The goals, affordances and problems science journalism faces and how that makes it different from other journalistic disciplines;
The main features of a science journalism interview;
The main (re)search techniques and websites relevant to science journalists;
Some themes from recent international research literature in the field of science journalism.
Students will learn the skills to:
Reflect independently on the merits of science journalism productions;
Write science journalism reports, interviews and articles;
Provide a text for publication;
Usie the main (re)search techniques and websites relevant to science journalists;
Apply findings from research literature to (own) practice.
Timetable
The timetables are available through MyTimetable.
Mode of instruction
Lecture
Seminar
Assessment method
Assessment
Written examination with essay questions: critical analysis of a published news article (access to the web during the exam). Goal: prove how and why this article does not comply with standards of journalism and/or academia; identify who and where mistakes were made
Active Participation/coöperation in class/group
Essay, paper: Long-form interview with a scientist (portrait of the person + scientific news value) + try and get it published in Mare, for a large interested general audience
Weighing
10%: In-class participation
40%: Exam; critical analysis of a published news article (access to the web during the exam). Goal: prove how and why this article does not comply with standards of journalism and/or academia; identify who and where mistakes were made;
50%: Long-form interview with a scientist (portrait of the person + scientific news value) + try and get it published in Mare, for a large interested general audience
Students must pass the exam and interview assignment.
Resit
Students can resit the interview if assessed as insufficient for a passing grade with a new interview (to be determined in consultation with the lecturer), to be submitted no later than one month after receipt of the mark for the first attempt. In case a student does not pass the exam, a resit will be organised.
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Reading list
Reading materials will be announced through Brightspace. All reading will be chosen from literature freely available on the web.
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Registration À la carte education, Contract teaching and Exchange
Not applicable.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Arsenaal.
Remarks
Not applicable