1) Identify a problem relating to global change and infectious disease, and state the urgency of the problem.
This might be the only part of your paper that deals explicitly with the biology of infectious disease in a
changing world, and I’d like you to be sure that there is significant biological content. You should state what the
problem is, and if known, how much worse the problem may become in the future, and argue that the problem
really needs solving.
2) You should lay out, in as much detail as possible, a proposal for a project that would address the problem
you’re addressing.
a) If this is an art project (broadly defined to include performance arts, film, visual arts, and fiction or poetry,
and pretty much anything else within the humanities and arts), you should outline the project (e.g., the plot
outline for a short story, an overview of a sculpture, and so on). You should then explain how you expect the
various parts of your project as well as the whole of the project to persuade public opinion on the issue you are
addressing.
b) An alternative possibility is to propose a policy change that would address the problem you’ve identified. You
should argue why your proposed policy change would solve the problem, and you should make a case for why
your policy change would be politically tenable.
c) Alternatively, you may propose a research project that addresses the efficacy of different policy or behavioral
approaches toward solving the problem you’ve identified. You should give enough
detail outlining your project so we have a sense of what experiments or analyses you’re proposing to do, and
you should be sure to explain how you would interpret different kinds of results.
d) Finally, you may propose a research project in the natural sciences that addresses the problem you’ve
identified. As with the social science research project above, you should outline enough details so we have a
sense of what you’re proposing to do, and you should be sure to explain how you would interpret different
kinds of results.
I should add that you might be encouraged by an article by Andrew Hoffman (Hoffman 2012) on how debates
on climate science have become a culture war, and that approaches to solving climate problems must go
beyond the natural sciences to also engage social scientists (and I would add artists). He suggests how those
who are persuaded by the consensus of climate scientists can most productively engage in discussions with
others who are not so persuaded.
Hoffman, A. J. 2012. Climate science as culture war. Pages 30-37 Stanford Social Innovation Review. Stanford
Sample Solution
