2008/09 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

HPSC2820 History of Genetics

10 creditsClass Size: 100

Module manager: Anne Jamieson
Email: A.K.Jamieson@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2008/09

Pre-requisite qualifications

A level Biology or any two level 1 modules in Biochemistry or Genetics

This module is approved as an Elective

Module summary

Ours is the age of DNA. From GM crops to superbabies, from hopes for new gene therapies to fears over a revived eugenics, the science of genetics is playing an ever more central role in our lives and in our world. But how did we come to understand what we do about genes? What is the relationship between genetics (the science of heredity) and eugenics (the better breeding of humans through science)? How did genetics escape the textbooks and the laboratories to transform how we eat, how we reproduce, how we catch criminals, and so much more?In this module we will seek answers to these questions in history. Throughout we will be paying attention to changing ideas about heredity and its study but also to the people behind the ideas, such as Gregor Mendel, the nineteenth-century monk whose experiments with peas provided ? well after his death ? the basis for genetics. Giving due attention to the scientific side of the story, we will also be considering the wider social, political and economic contexts, going right up to the present era of "genomics" and gene patenting. Towards the end of the module, we will consider whether the current situation amounts to a new eugenics.Some background in biology is strongly recommended though not strictly required for this module. For more details, contact Dr Gregory Radick, email G.M.Radick@leeds.ac.uk.

Objectives

To provide an overview of the historical development of genetics as a scientific discipline

Syllabus

Gregor Mendel and the Mendelian Revolution; the old eugenics; Watson and Crick's DNA double helix and the Molecular Revolution; the new eugenics; the Human Genome Project and the rise of "genomics".

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Lecture	11	1.00	11.00
Tutorial	5	1.00	5.00
Private study hours			84.00
Total Contact hours			16.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			100.00

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

2 x 1,500 word essays

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	1,500 words	50.00
Essay	1,500 words	50.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 08/06/2009

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