COLL 147: SHOULD WE EAT OUR BOOGERS?
Spring 2025 · Section 001 · CRN 26849
The two primary goals of this course are to enhance understanding of the immune system and promote the development of effective communication skills. In this course, students will begin exploring the immune system as friend and foe and its roles in health and disease through the eyes of Matt Richtel, author of An Elegant Defense. “The immune system is our body’s essential defense network, a guardian vigilantly fighting illness, healing wounds, maintaining order and balance, and keeping us alive.” Through activities that complement the reading of An Elegant Defense, students will engage in activities that emphasize the importance of being able to communicate complex ideas to a broad audience and allow them to develop best practices in effective science communication to the public. The ability to access as well as contextually understand scientific discoveries has continuously served as a metaphorical wall that has prevented the majority of our society from learning about this important bodily system—especially our youth. With the influx of restrictions afflicting scientific curriculum in public schools across the country, children and parents alike are facing a drought of knowledge. From losing the working vocabulary associated with body autonomy to being unable to recognize sickness in others, children are being depraved of immunological intuition that is integral to their livelihood. This course hopes to start bridging this gap in comprehension with the help of an unexpected humanities-centered lens—in the unique fashion of children’s literature. How can we use humanities to broaden children’s access to knowledge in immunological topics?
- Credits
- 1
- Instructors
- Azhariya Ellis