Nutritional Sciences & Toxicology 24:
Freshman Seminar: Nutrition in the News - 1 Unit

NST 24, sec 3, Syllabus in PDF

Lecture:
Wednesday 12:00 - 1:00pm in 138 Morgan Hall

Instructor and Office Hours
Nancy R. Hudson, MS, RD
131 Morgan Hall
510-642-4090
E-mail: hudson@nature.berkeley.edu
Office Hours: Tuesdays 2:00 -3:00 pm, Thursdays 11:00 - Noon, or by appointment

Course Objective:
By the end of this course, the student will be able to:

• Identify credible sources for news stories about food and nutrition.
• Differentiate between accurate and misleading nutrition stories.
• Trace news stories about nutrition to their source, to compare the reports with the scientific literature.
• Compare news stories about foods and nutrition with the content presented in any standard nutrition text.
• Critique nutrition articles for content and presentation style.
• Determine when it is appropriate to make personal dietary changes based on information found in the media.

Course Material:
The class will be given weekly newspapers to peruse for stories about food and nutrition. In addition, articles related to the topic will be sent to the list from a clipping service that the instructor receives. Students are also encouraged to submit articles that they wish to discuss.

NS 24 Listserve
A listserve has been established for this course. It can be used for communication between students and with the instructor. Some class materials and assignments will be distributed over the listserve. You are required to sign up for this listserve and to check it regularly.

To enroll in the listserve you must be logged onto a computer using your own personal e-mail account. Send an e-mail to: ns24s3-request@nature.berkeley.edu The message should contain the single word "subscribe".

Grades:
The course is being offered on a Pass/No Pass basis. Letter grades will not be given. In order to earn a passing grade, a student must:

• attend class regularly;
• actively participate in class discussions;
• read, and be prepared to discuss the article or reading assignments given; and
• engage in exchanges with the class over the class listserve.

Lecture Schedule
For this seminar, topics will be determined on a weekly basis, depending on what is found in the media that week. The class will meet every Wednesday from August 27th until December 3rd, 2003. There will be no final exam in this course.

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