Bio215: Genetics and Society is a general science elective open to all students without an introductory biology requirement. It can fulfill the ‘Science and Society’ course required of biology concentrators, can be counted as a required Quantitative and Symbolic Reasoning course and is also listed as an elective for a Law and Jurisprudence minor. My principal goal is to create a learning environment where all the students can expand their knowledge, particularly in areas outside their expertise, while sharing what they already know. The biologists can tutor the non-scientists in basic genetics and cell biology while the aspiring social scientists and philosophers can interrogate the working assumptions of the scientists. By the end of the course they should all be experts (comparatively speaking), capable of acting as a resource for family, friends and community in questions relating to advances in molecular genetics.

The inter-disciplinary nature of the course and the breadth of the participants are both its strength and the major challenge of teaching it. Students elect to take Bio215 because they are truly interested in the material and come to class with a great attitude and an open mind. However, it is always their 4^th course and they often have other, more pressing, priorities. I endeavor to vary the pedagogy and forms of assessment to keep the students engaged and to not favor one discipline’s style of learning. For example, they experience the hands-on reality of DNA isolation and microsatellite marker amplification in a week-long lab and then enact a mock trial based on forensic DNA analysis.

My current focus in the course is on genetic determinism and the ‘enough’ argument. Is all progress in human biotechnology desirable? If not, how/when/what should be regulated? Who decides and takes responsibility locally and globally? The course culminates with a major position paper on individualized genetic identity cards, which I provide to them mid-semester. These cards, and the way they are incorporated in to the syllabus, will be demonstrated.