Chemistry 250 - Being Human in STEM

(Offered as ENGL-227, CHEM-250) Being Human in STEM (HSTEM) is an interactive course that combines academic inquiry and community engagement to investigate the theme of diversity within STEM fields at Amherst and beyond. We will survey the interdisciplinary literature on the ways in which identity—e.g., gender, class, race, sexuality, disability—and context shape STEM persistence and belonging. In parallel, students will design projects that apply the findings of our research to develop resources and engage the STEM community, whether at the college, local, or national level. Coursework includes at least six hours a week for reading, reflective writing and project work. Expected class participation will require a commitment to building community across differences, active engagement in critical discussions that challenge assumptions and confront biases, and sharing in-progress project work in a public campus salon. For this iteration, the class will have a creative writing focus, in which students will explore their personal relationship to STEM and its history, and write works that connect the scientific world to a broader social context. Students taking this class for English credit will participate in craft-focused writing workshops with their peers.

Expect scholarly work from the authors: Anthony Tony Jack, Bettina L. Love, Jasbir K Puar, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Leah Schmalzbauer, Dionne Brand, Olufemi O. Taiwo, Katherine McKittrick, & Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing.

Open to sophomores, juniors and seniors. Limited 18 students due to the intensive writing and discussion- and project-based nature of the class.

Offered Spring Semester: Professors Jaswal and Abraham. 

How to handle overenrollment: Preference will be given to ensure a mix of majors and class years.

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: An emphasis on critical reading, active engagement in discussion, including some facilitation, written reflections, and contribution to a final written or digital group project drawing from course materials, discussions, and independent research, which will be used as the basis for an oral presentation in a community salon.