In Jan Term 2023, a handful of Honors students took the course Resurrection Science, a class that covers topics such as genome editing, de-extinction, and the connection between DNA and health. 

Madeline Jones, a freshman majoring in biology, took the class because she both needed the Honors credit and has special interest in genetics. Megan Hirasaki, a freshman psychology major, took the class to complete both her Honors science credit and required science credit for shared curriculum. Both students are in the Honors program.

Resurrection Science was offered in both an honors and a non-honors version. Megan was pleasantly surprised with how much she enjoyed the class, especially since she is not a science major. “I was a little worried I wouldn’t perform well,” she said, “but the material was comprehensible and engaging.” Madeline also really enjoyed the class, and felt that the readings and discussions in class were engaging and allowed for multiple points of view. 

Although a science class, many of the discussions focused on ethics. Madeline appreciated that the course looked at the ethical and moral views of genetics and genome editing rather than solely focusing on science. One of Megan’s favorite parts of the class was the fact that they got to talk about ethics. “We talked about who should be making ethical decisions for younger children or children who have not been born yet, the definition of community, and the benefits and harms of gene editing technology on future generations.” 

Megan said, “these three topics were extremely memorable and encouraged me to think critically about current issues. This entire class was relatable on a personal level, and it challenged me to analyze my own motives for the issues listed above.” 

The class also had a wide range of non-science majors, so “we often heard from mixed perspectives” Megan said. 

Two of the main class projects were a podcast where students picked the subject the presented on, and a class discussion led by each student. Megan also appreciated the personal responsibility that leading the class discussion encouraged. “It was our responsibility to create engaging, thought-provoking questions,” Megan said. Madeline really appreciated the podcast, which was the class’s final project. “[It] allowed students to broaden their focus and learn, not just the subject of the class, but a wide range of other relevant scientific topics,” she said. 

Resurrection Science was Madeline’s first Honors class at Whitworth, and she said it was a “positive first experience” that left her excited to continue involvement within the Honors program. She appreciated how this class reflected the emphasis that the Honors program puts on group work and discussion. “I felt that this promoted an environment that accurately reflected how scientific communities work in the real world, rather than a room of students working on individual studies.”

For parting advice, Megan said, “take Resurrection Science with Dr. Putzke. You won’t regret it!”