In the Fall of 2015 and in the 2016–2017 academic year, we conducted a two-week, team-taught, interdisciplinary module concurrently in an advanced biochemistry course, offered in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, and a sophomore-level environmental-ethics course, offered in the Religion Department, at Oberlin College. The focus of the unit was the mechanism of pesticides and the ethics of their use domestically and in agriculture, using Silent Spring by Rachel Carson as a primary text. The general question our students explored was: How does understanding the chemistry of various pesticides impact biological systems and larger preservation and conversation practices? Posing the question in this manner signaled to students that to adequately grapple with pressing environmental concerns, we must utilize an integrated approach and response. Students in both classes were exposed to chemical and biological mechanisms of different types of pesticides at their level of assumed knowledge and learned about several ethical theories that they then applied to real-world case studies. The two instructors (a biochemist and an ethicist) visited each other’s classrooms and taught lectures relevant to their specialties (e.g., the biochemist taught a lecture on pesticide mechanisms of action). Students completed a reflection assignment about the unit as well as a research paper about a pesticide of their choice, which demonstrated their knowledge about the pesticide’s mechanism of action and explored the ethics of that pesticide’s use. We believe this module is easily adaptable to any biochemistry or environmental chemistry course. We provide a detailed description of the module and our assessment of its impact on students’ ability to apply general ethical theories to complex societal issues.

中文翻译：

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农药使用的生物学影响及其伦理学含义：上等本科生化学课程的简短模块

在2015年秋季和2016–2017学年，我们同时在化学和生物化学系提供的高级生物化学课程和大二水平的环境伦理学下，进行了为期两周的团队指导的跨学科课程该课程在Oberlin学院的宗教系开设。该部门的重点是使用《寂静的春天》，研究农药的机理及其在国内和农业中的使用伦理。由雷切尔·卡森（Rachel Carson）作主要文字。我们的学生探索的一个普遍问题是：了解各种农药的化学性质如何影响生物系统以及更大范围的保存和交谈方式？以这种方式提出问题，向学生表明，要充分应对紧迫的环境问题，我们必须采用综合的方法和应对措施。这两个班的学生都以假定的知识水平接触了不同类型农药的化学和生物机制，并了解了一些道德理论，然后将其应用于现实世界的案例研究。两位讲师（一名生物化学家和一名伦理学家）互访了彼此的教室，并讲授了与他们的专业有关的讲座（例如，生物化学家讲了关于农药作用机理的讲座）。学生完成了有关该单元的反思作业以及有关所选农药的研究论文，展示了他们对农药作用机理的了解，并探讨了该农药使用的道德规范。我们认为该模块很容易适应任何生物化学或环境化学课程。我们将对该模块进行详细说明，并评估其对学生将一般道德理论应用于复杂社会问题的能力的影响。