New Class Teaches Students to Tell Stories of Science
When news of the so-called “CRISPR babies” created by Chinese scientists broke last November, the internet flooded with all kinds of angles and hot takes. From cable news to podcasts to scientists writing op-eds, it seemed like everyone had an opinion on the topic.
“We saw almost a sensationalist take on most of this because people were so willing to be quoted about the ethics of it. Not that the scientists wouldn’t explain the science, but since they were so vocal about how morally fraught this experimentation was, they didn’t explain the science efficiently,” said Aleszu Bajak, a freelance science journalist and graduate programs manager at Northeastern University’s School of Journalism.
Splashy headlines about the newest study results are nothing new, and media coverage often doesn’t explain the science with context and nuance. A new course in the School of Journalism aims to provide a place for students to explore journalism in delivering scientific news to the general public. Taught by Bajak, “Science Writing” wants to help students become better consumers of scientific information as they report their own stories thoughtfully and ethically.
Before becoming a science journalist with bylines in The Washington Post and Nature, Bajak had a past life working in a gene therapy lab. He built viruses and injected mice for three years until deciding to pursue career paths that would expose him to other scientific fields. He landed an internship at BioTechniques, a journal for scientists on laboratory methods, where he leveraged his genetics background to write news pieces.
Bajak first prototyped a science writing class at nearby Brandeis University a few years ago. That class comprised of both undergraduate and graduate students — some of whom wanted to be science journalists, others who wanted to talk about the work their lab was doing.
“It worked really well because I spent a lot of time building it so it was approachable to any student from any science or writing background,” said Bajak. He wanted to get students thinking about who communicates science to society, who controls how science is told, and who gets to tell the story of scientific advances.
The success at Brandeis led him to advocate for a similar one at Northeastern, particularly because of the university’s research focus and large student population. Offered at Northeastern for the first time this semester, “Science Writing” mainly consists of undergraduate journalism majors among its approximately 20 students.
Senior journalism student Drew Daylor signed up because he wants more hands-on skills to market himself in the job hunt. He is excited about getting portfolio pieces as he ponders a career in science writing, whether as a reporter or on the communications side. “I think this class is good preparation for both from what I’ve experienced so far,” he said.
Daylor has a longstanding interest in science, dabbling in some STEM courses at Northeastern before deciding on journalism. He also appreciates having a community of friends in engineering and biotechnology who help him keep up with science news, especially with his current interest in genetic medicine: “It’s a great journalistic resource to stay on top of the conversations professionals are having every day in their work life.”
“Science Writing” also appeals to other majors, such as first-year biology student Sinaia Keith Lang. The emphasis on promoting scientific literacy, as well as ethical and effective reporting, led her to sign up. Though being one of few non-journalism majors can be intimidating, she said she has enjoyed the discussions on interesting scientific topics.
“I hope to use what I learned from the class to better explain the science that I geek out about to the people in my life who are more inclined towards the liberal arts,” Keith Lang explained via email.
Over the first few weeks of class, Bajak has been pleased with the engaged discussion.
“Between unpacking breaking news stories, long magazine features, and talking to guest speakers, we’ve already had a broad look survey at what science writing looks like today,” he said. “We’ve also had really deep discussions about the roles of scientists and of journalists in society, and how we think science is portrayed in mainstream media.”
As he gets feedback from this first iteration, Bajak anticipates the class will appeal to a broad range of students from different disciplines: “My hope is that it can kind of become a 50-student lecture size, approachable science writing class for everyone at Northeastern.”
