Djerassi tries novel
approach in teaching ethical discourse
BY KRISTIN WEIDENBACH
A new course, taught by
chemistry professor and novelist Carl Djerassi, melds the
teaching of ethics with the writing of short stories.
"Ethical Discourse Through Science-in-Fiction"
will be offered in the School of Medicine during winter
quarter.
The unique element of this
ethics course is the use of fiction as a format.
"Teaching about ethics is much more easier done if
one uses hypothetical examples," Djerassi said.
"Whenever people ask, 'Is this based on this person
or that person?' you can say, 'No, it is fiction. Don't
worry about who it is. We're talking about the problem
rather than the personalities.' "
Using this approach,
Djerassi said, he hopes to explore ethical issues that
students otherwise might not raise for reasons of
discretion or fear of retribution.
Each student in the new
course will compose a short story of 10 pages or less, in
which the plot focuses on questionable ethical behavior
in a scientific scenario. Fodder for story ideas will
come from issues that arise in contemporary science, such
as the "publish or perish" mentality, research
competition among academics, training practices of novice
scientists, and problems faced by women in a world
traditionally dominated by men. Djerassi will then
circulate the anonymous stories among the class, and
students will discuss the ethical connotations in detail.
Djerassi hopes to attract
a diverse range of medical and basic-science students to
the course, each bringing his or her personal
"voice" to the discussion. Graduate students
and postdoctoral fellows are his primary target, he said
people who have already spent time in research
laboratories and who may have firsthand experience of
ethical dilemmas.
Describing the new course
as a "welcome experiment," Ernlé Young,
clinical professor of medicine (ethics) and co-director
of the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics, said he
endorses the concept of students raising their own
ethical issues. Fiction is a useful tool in this process,
Young said, because it "removes some of the
responsibilities and provides [students] a shield of
anonymity."
Current ethical issues,
said Young, include the patenting of genetic information,
falsification of data, and conflicts of interest arising
when scientists straddle the academic and industrial
worlds.
Fiction writing which
comes to life through dialogue, imagery and emotions
contrasts sharply with the formal academic writing
familiar to most students in medical school. But worries
about writing styles shouldn't deter anyone from entering
the course, Djerassi said. The ethical issues, rather
than the literary quality of the writing, will be the
focus of class discussions.
"It is not a writing
course; it is an ethics course. So, other than lousy
spelling, I'll leave it up to them," he said.
On the other hand, if the
course is successful and appeals to students, Djerassi
said, he wouldn't discount the possibility of the stories
eventually being published as a compilation.
Students interested in
"Ethical Discourse Through Science-in-Fiction"
must complete a pre-registration questionnaire and submit
the first sentence of a potential short story by Monday,
Dec. 15. Enrollment is limited to 10 to 12 participants.
For further details or to request a copy of the
questionnaire, contact Djerassi at djerassi@stanford.edu or 723-2783. SR
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