At the University of Chicago, I develop and teach the core courses for the minor program in Science Communication and Public Discourse (SCPD). My teaching excites students from a broad range of academic backgrounds spanning the sciences, social sciences, and humanities with perspectives on the historical, cultural, and communicational aspects of science, technology, and medicine. My approach emphasizes a balance of theoretical and practical instruction including interdisciplinary reading and discussion as well as experiential learning and open format projects. Below you can find a list of courses I have developed and offer along with their descriptions.

INTRODUCTION TO THE FIELD OF SCIENCE COMMUNICATION (SCPD 11800/HIPS 11800)

Previously offered: Spring 2025

Communicating accurately and effectively about science to non-expert audiences is quickly becoming an essential skill for scientists and non-scientists alike. This course provides a foundation in science communication theory and practice that prepares students to communicate about their own research, or someone else’s across a wide range of media formats and situations. Broadly scoped, this course covers the history of science communication, different approaches to engaging public audiences about science, theories of communication and science education, as well as practical training in science journalism and science writing. Each week we will focus our learning by investigating and analyzing a different historical case study from the perspective of science communication including breakthroughs, emergencies, debates, innovations, controversies, and everyday applications of research. Concepts and skills we will cover include the deficit model of science communication, communicating uncertainty and risk, engaging diverse stakeholders, addressing misconceptions, fact checking to ensure scientific accuracy, and communicating about major discoveries and everyday practice. No prior knowledge of science communication is required.

SCIENCE COMMUNICATION: CRAFTING A SCIENCE THINK PIECE (SCPD 11300)

Previously offered: Spring 2025, Autumn 2024, Spring 2024, Autumn 2023

Science think pieces are an important genre of public writing. Think pieces are longform journalism that appear in print and online publications. Readers of all kinds turn to science think pieces to understand critical issues in STEM fields and get a big picture perspective. Science think pieces provide deep context, informed perspective, and expert synthesis of the most recent data and findings. They have the power to shape public opinion and influence science policy. This course guides students through the process of conceiving, developing, pitching, writing, and potentially publishing an engaging and persuasive science think piece. Through reading-inspired group discussions and instructor-led writing projects, the course introduces students to current theories and best practices of science communication as well as everyday processes in science journalism and public-facing science writing. Students will finish the course with a polished science think piece ready for submission to potential venues for publication. No prior knowledge of science communication is required.

READ: UChicago Magazine “Storytelling, Down to a Science”

SCIENCE COMMUNICATION: PRODUCING A SCIENCE PODCAST (SCPD 11400)

Previously offered: Winter 2025, Spring 2024, Winter 2024

Podcasts are one of the most popular ways for non-experts to learn about science and for working scientists to follow happenings in other fields. Podcasts are audio productions typically ranging between 20 and 45 minutes. Science podcasts provide context, perspective, and synthesis to diverse audiences. They have the power to highlight recent findings, surface the everyday aspects of scientific research practices, amplify diverse voices in the sciences, and combat misinformation. This course prepares students to create science content in audio formats through practical studio experience. It provides a platform for science storytelling, an introduction to science communication theory, and covers science journalism best practices. Emphasis will be placed on crafting compelling audio stories, interviewing techniques, narration, sourcing audio clips and samples, editing, accessibility, and creating show notes and supporting materials. Students will finish the course with a polished science podcast episode ready for publishing. No prior knowledge of science communication is required.

SCIENCE COMMUNICATION: DESIGNING A SCIENCE EXHIBIT (SCPD 11500)

Previously offered: Spring 2024

For more than a century, public science exhibits have popularized and increased access to scientific knowledge. Today, science exhibits are typically found at museums, planetariums, libraries, zoos, historical sites, universities, and online. Science exhibits allow the public to engage with material examples of scientific work and its products, learn from interpretive text and diagrams, and make connections between the history of science and science in the present day. They have the ability to foster public support for science, inspire future and early career scientists, and make science more accessible for audiences of all ages. This course prepares students to conceptualize, propose, design, install, curate, and evaluate science exhibits. The class will include visits to science collections and museums, interactions with professional curators, and will explore practical aspects of science communication theory. Students will finish the course ready to develop effective and informative science exhibits in both small and large formats, from a display case to an exhibit hall. No prior knowledge of science communication is required.

EXPLORATIONS OF MARS (SCPD 11700/HIPS 21700/CEGU 26070)

Previously offered: Winter 2025, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2021, Spring 2021: Formerly listed as: KNOW 36070 / HIST 35200 / ENST 26070 / HIPS 26070

Mars seems to be on everyone's mind. Is there life there? Will humans ever set foot on the surface? Should we try to establish a settlement? How did we become obsessed with the Red Planet in the first place? This course will prepare you to communicate effectively about space science and join conversations about Mars happening across society. Through readings, activities, and discussions focused on history, science, and culture we will build an understanding of important figures, events, ideas, and trends required to communicate about Mars. A major focus will be learning how Mars has factored into different social and cultural movements here on Earth, including theological debates, military conquest, scientific exploration, and commercial settlement. We combine this foundation with theories and practices from science communication, including how to engage non-expert audiences, explain complex terms and concepts, convey uncertainty and ambiguity, and counter misinformation and conspiracy theories. The course moves from the earliest visual observations of Mars to present-day robotic missions on the planet's surface, and also considers plans for future human exploration and habitation. Students can expect a deepened understanding of our important cosmic neighbor and how to think, write, and speak about it. No prior knowledge of Mars is required.

READ: UChicago College News “Jordan Bimm takes students on an exploration of Mars in spring quarter MAPSS course”

THE HUMAN BODY IN EXTREMES

The University of Chicago: Winter 2021: IRHU 27001, KNOW 36000, HIPS 26100

What can the human body endure? This interdisciplinary research seminar focuses on the interplay between bodies and extreme environments. Each week we will “visit” a different hazardous context or locale and consider the challenges it poses to human culture and survival. Environments to be covered include outer space, deep seas, polar regions, radiation zones, mountain summits, underground mines, and disaster areas. With tools from environmental history, the history of medicine, the history of technology, medical anthropology, and sociology, we will consider how ideas of the body and how ideas of the environment change over time, and how producing knowledge about the limits of the body helps to define what people consider “normal” bodies and “normal” conditions. Each seminar will pair short readings drawn from secondary sources with original research tasks in diverse historical archives. Students in the course will develop greater familiarity with humanistic research methods, as well as learn how to apply scientific and biomedical ideas of the body within humanistic research projects. Students in the course will also learn how to participate effectively in current debates about where and how people live, work, and travel.

RESEARCH IN ARCHIVES: HUMAN BODIES IN HISTORY (developed and taught with Dr. Iris Clever)

The University of Chicago: Autumn 2021, Winter 2023: IRHU 27006 1, KNOW 26076 1, HIST 25513

How have we come to know and experience our bodies? This undergraduate seminar develops humanities research skills necessary to study the body in history. Spanning early modern cultural practices to modern medicine, science, and technology, this course explores how ideas and practices concerning the body have changed over time and how the body itself is shaped by culture and society. A major focus will be learning how to conduct different forms of historical research to produce cutting-edge humanities scholarship about the human body. Readings will introduce key themes and recent scholarship including work on disability, reproduction, race, gender, ethics, extreme environments, and identity. This dynamic research group will grapple with issues at the heart of our corporeal existence by combining perspectives from the history of science, medicine, and technology, cultural history, anthropology, and science and technology studies (STS). Instructor-led field trips will introduce students to research methods at sites including the Smart Museum of Art, the University’s Archives and Special Collections, and the University’s Pathology Laboratory, Anatomy Laboratory, and Morgue. Students will have the opportunity to learn from curators, archivists, and medical practitioners.