Course Timeline/Syllabus

Grading, Writing, and Reading Assignments

This course is a hybrid creature.

First, since this is a science course, we will spend considerable time examining how biology is and has been used in forensics. Given the nature of this course, we will attempt to understand the biological principles that serve as foundation for analysis of forensic evidence. Subject matter will include aspects of human physiology, genetics, and entomology. There will be some significant laboratory time in the first two weeks, with an emphasis on DNA typing.

Second, about half of this course will be devoted to writing. We will work on learning to write fiction of the mystery genre, and hopefully youcan incorporate some of your newly earned expertise in forensic biology into the plot. No, I do not expect a novel from each of you at the end of the course, but I do expect you to write almost daily using the right side of your brain. Material you develop in the first two weeks of the course will be useful in our writing workshop in the third week at the Baca campus.

I am asking you to do a lot of different things- keep a daily journal, read and learn science, do labwork, write creatively on a daily basis, take exams, and generate a fiction product in a group writing endeavor at Baca. The timeline for the Block, as well as a description of course activities and the grading rubric, can be found in the links at the left.