NTU Science, Technology & Society (STS) Electives
Module:
BS8003 Science or Fiction - Biology in Popular Media
Description:
This course introduces several major concepts and themes in Biology, such as genetics, evolution,immunology, through the dissection of selected works of science fiction in popular media. It is especially beneficial to students who have no prior background in the field of biology, and may be intimidated by too many technical terms in regular biology course work. Concepts are better understood through critical analysis of science fiction plot in comparison to actual biology.
Module:
BS8003 Science or Fiction - Biology in Popular Media
Description:
This course introduces several major concepts and themes in Biology, such as genetics, evolution,immunology, through the dissection of selected works of science fiction in popular media. It is especially beneficial to students who have no prior background in the field of biology, and may be intimidated by too many technical terms in regular biology course work. Concepts are better understood through critical analysis of science fiction plot in comparison to actual biology.
Notes:
Download here
Download here
Lecturer: Mainly Dr Sze Chun Chau
ReplyDeleteGrade: A
Grading components: Clicker Questions, MCQ Midterms & MCQ Finals
I really enjoyed this module due to my interest in biology & movies/shows. We’d watch several segments of a movie/show (sometimes she will play the whole movie) that is science-related such as CSI, Jurassic Park, Memento, GATTACA etc. So the first half the lecture will be spent watching the shows and the other half will be spent explaining the scientific concepts behind it.
Dr Sze delivered the lecture extremely well, she was very clear and concise – even if you didn’t understand what she explained during the lecturer, you can always watch the recorded lectures again! It was a lot easier to remember such concepts as you could relate back to the movie. Apart from the scientific part, parts from the movie can also be tested in the midterms/finals. She doesn’t recommend us to do the past year papers as this module’s syllabus gets updated quite often.
Also, you will realise that a lot of things that happen in these movies/shows are extremely fictional! Some content may be similar to BS8001, such as the process of transcription & translation, but I feel that the content in BS8003 is easier and also more digestible because of the references to the movie.
Even if the last time you took Biology was in Sec2, if you are able to understand the movies/shows together with the concepts, it wouldn’t be too difficult to score.
Personally, I did attend every lecture because it was really very interesting and I did spend quite sometime watching the recorded lectures cause I lose focus easily especially when the lecture is 3 hours long! However, there were certain details that I did not pay attention to such as when dinosaurs went extinct, which eventually came out during my finals! Haha, the answer is 65 million years ago, by the way.
Tips: Rewatch the shows & lecturers!
Course Name: Science or Fiction: Biology in Popular Media
ReplyDeleteCourse Code: BS8003
Elective Type: Ger Pe - STS or UE
Assessment: Exam (100%)
Comment: The course will have movie screening and some lectures. The course content is quite similar to high school chemistry and biology. The movies are all also very nice.
Verdict: I got an A from this. However please take note that there is no CA for this course. It is an 100% exam. So if you screw up the exam you are gone.
Update: As of 8 May 2015, I receive info that the exam paper change drastically compare to those pyp circulating around. The paper was not as easy what i used to take. Please go for the first lesson and see if you can cope before taking this.