Dr. Joshua Corrette-Bennett, Westminster College assistant professor of biology, and Dr. Bethany Hicok, Westminster associate professor of English, co-authored "Designer Genes: Teaching the Ethical Dimensions of Genetic Research in Clustered Courses."

The paper is included in The Human Genome Project in College Curriculum, edited by Aine Donovan and Ronald Green, and recently published by University Press of New England. The book is a collection of essays dealing with a range of ethical issues emerging from the Human Genome Project.

Corrette-Bennett and Hicok attended the ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI) professional conference at the Dartmouth College Ethics Institute in 2004, and developed a cluster course which they taught in the 2005 and 2007 spring semesters.

At Westminster, a cluster course is two interlinked, integrated courses that students are required to take during the same semester. In "Designer Genes," the cluster included "The Science and Ethics of Human Genome Research," an introductory laboratory course in biology; and "Genetics in Literature, Film, and Culture," a literature course.

"After teaching the cluster one time, we assessed some of the outcomes of the course and wrote an article," Corrette-Bennett explained. "The directors of ELSI provided conference participants the opportunity to present the articles at the 10th year ELSI reunion. About 50 of the articles were selected for presentation at the reunion, and only 20 or so of those were selected for publication in the book."

The abstract for the paper explained: "It is now generally acknowledged that the ethical, legal, and social issues raised by the Human Genome Project must be addressed by drawing on expertise from multiple disciplines. But the challenge for higher education in teaching this expansive topic is how to draw on sufficient expertise, since most faculty members are educated in highly specialized and narrowly defined fields. This paper explores the advantages of a 'cluster approach,' which allowed students majoring in a broad range of disciplines to explore issues associated with the Human Genome Project and literature in considerable depth both within and across disciplines."

Corrette-Bennett, who has been with Westminster since 2001, earned an undergraduate degree from Bates College and Ph.D. from Brandeis University.

Hicok has been with Westminster since 2001. She earned an undergraduate degree from Russell Sage College and masters and Ph. D. from the University of Rochester.

Contact Corrette-Bennett at (724) 946-7208 (e-mail corretjc@westminster.edu) or Hicok at (724) 946-6349 (e-mail hicokbf@westminster.edu) for additional information.

Dr. Joshua Corrette-Bennett

Dr. Bethany Hicok