This blog will serve as a discussion forum, where students in our class can share ideas and questions about some of the broader, over-arching questions related to the topics covered in the 12 modules of our course.

Each module has its own category where students post entries and comments related to a couple of overarching questions from each module. Please make sure you click the correct week under Categories on the right side of the page. The entries should be carefully written, polite and professional, and should reflect some serious thinking. Claims and assertions should be supported by facts — we are not looking for feelings or beliefs — and should indicate a familiarity with the material associated with each module of the course.

You will have a subscription to the print and online versions of the New York Times. I would like you to read relevant stories, especially in the science section. During the semester, I expect each of you to blog about a minimum of two stories in the Times.

See the course home page for information on grading the blog entries.