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Jackie Marano's picture

English as a science person

I would actually agree with you, coming from the other side of this, that english as a science-grounded person has also been a challenge, but nonetheless rewarding. In fact what is interesting to me is that most undergraduate science majors (whose interests and pursuits are founded, inevitably, in the 'story' of evolution) nation-wide have not read Darwin's "On the Origin of Species." I think this was a first for all/most of us here too. In fact I think these science-thinkers or majors base their understanding of the predominating 'story' of evolution on textbook summaries of what Darwin said, and then taking it from there. At least this was my experience in high school and the pre-med track here until I took this course. I don't know that I would have thought to pick up this book either, and if so, it wouldn't have been nearly as meaningful without the context of this class.

     Perhaps here in class we thought about Darwin way more deeply than he himself could have ever imagined. And somehow by the end, what we gleaned from his work seemed so applicable to everything else (other stories and other forms of evolution too), and then nothing really seemed mutually exclusive from anything else on all accounts. But what was most amazing to me is that what we've talked about can address the universe and galaxies, or it can address what goes on in our class and even in our own minds. Sure they're not like Darwin's, but all of our webpapers are stories too. And there's no better way to keep ideas and this course evolving after we leave than to make our stories available for the world to read. I certainly feel like I have evolved internally from this course, and others seem to feel the same way. I don't think this form of evolution could possibly be self-contained. It will spread some way and somehow at some time. And the fact that we have all posted some webpapers should leave no doubt in our minds that this is already happening.

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