All you need to do to do well in the class is show up at discussions where you are given the answers to each week’s quiz. You don’t need to watch the lectures or do the reading (though it is very interesting). The weekly slack participation just involves commenting on a news article. The group project is pretty easy, and just takes some minimal effort. The only difficult assignment in the class is a 5 page research paper about diversity issues in stem cell treatment. As long as you can handle that, the course will be a breeze.

The course was very light in workload and was very interesting as well. It wasn't very biology heavy, especially in the last couple weeks which focused on the ethics regarding stem cells. There were no exams, but rather there was a group project in the middle of the quarter and a final paper at the end. In the group project, we were assigned a disease that could be treated by stem cells and had to create a website, infographic, or presentation regarding it. It was not a big time commitment and was graded through peer and instructor reviews. The final paper was straightforward and simple as well, being a paper about health disparities with a 5 page limit, which was not graded harshly. Other than that, the class had weekly quizzes that usually revolved around the content discussed in discussion that week and the questions could easily be answered using the discussion slides that were posted on Canvas. They were free response and were not graded harshly. Discussions were not mandatory, but it was necessary to look at the slides for them to complete the quizzes. There were also weekly article responses starting week 3 where you had to write a 50-100 word response to one of the articles Dr. Lee posted for that week, very straightforward as well. Lectures were not mandatory as well, but were interesting and were usually recorded. Overall, I really recommend the class as a light GE, especially if you need to fulfill your Social Analysis or Life Science requirement.

I love Dr. Lee's lectures! She is incredibly engaging to listen to and there were so many interesting aspects to this class. BEWARE: do not take this however if you do not have a strong biology background because around 7 weeks of this course is geared towards biology and not ethics/politics. I will say that as a warning, but to those who love science and have a strong foundation in biology, this is the course for you. We also do not need to purchase any course materials which is another plus! Attend and participate in your discussions, do your weekly assignments and readings, listen to lectures is typically the average week's workload. The midterm paper is heavy and a bit of work but start early. The final is a group project that is also intensive but if you set a pace and meet with your group, you will be totally successful in this class and walk away with some fascinating information.