{"id":2814,"date":"2023-04-12T12:51:26","date_gmt":"2023-04-12T19:51:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/psquared\/?page_id=2814"},"modified":"2023-04-12T15:10:22","modified_gmt":"2023-04-12T22:10:22","slug":"protein-portraits-2023-syllabus","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/psquared\/welcome-to-protein-portraits-2015\/protein-portraits-2023-syllabus\/","title":{"rendered":"Protein Portraits 2023 Syllabus"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Protein Portraits 2023: Proteins in the News<\/h1>\n<h1><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Course syllabus<\/span><\/h1>\n<h2>What is involved in taking this course?<\/h2>\n<p>Protein Portraits BB 407H is an Honors College Colloquium, 1 credit hour. \u00a0We get to make the course anew each year.\u00a0 Our syllabus is finalized after everyone has had a say, and that seldom happens on the first day of class.\u00a0 Instead, we talk and adjust until everyone is happy with the plan.<\/p>\n<p>Our goal this year will be to create visual companion pieces to go with <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">proteins that are in the news.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>How do we define <em>The News<\/em>?<\/h2>\n<p>When say something along the lines of &#8220;have you heard the news&#8221;, we generally mean that something new and of interest has come up.\u00a0 It it a piece of news that is being widely disseminated?\u00a0 Or is it a smaller piece of news of interest to a small subset of news watchers?\u00a0 Is it news that is being spread by a physical medium such as a newspaper, or is it spreading through digital and social media, or by word of mouth?\u00a0 There are many variables.<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to proteins in the news, varying amounts of technical detail may be included.\u00a0 New dietary preparations of proteins are constantly circulating by people paying attention to their nutritional health, but the details of amino acids and polypeptide structure are not often part of the story.\u00a0 But at the other extreme, the fine molecular details have received front-page exposure in news about the spike proteins of covid viruses.<\/p>\n<p>Another question is whether old news still qualifies as news?\u00a0 Each new protein discovery has made a news splash at one time.\u00a0 When certain allergies like peanut allergies were linked to specific proteins, that was news!\u00a0 When certain proteins in the brain behaved in the same way as opiate drugs, that was news?\u00a0 In Protein Portraits this term, will we want to go back to those earlier news items?\u00a0 It&#8217;s up to us to decide!<\/p>\n<h2>What we expect to learn:<\/h2>\n<p>We will take up the general topic of <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">newsy proteins <\/span><em>\u00a0<\/em>through three main activities.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Answers\u00a0from the world of science.<\/strong> Our\u00a0<em>first activity<\/em> will be to approach newsy proteins from a scientific standpoint. We will tour the chemistry and structure of proteins, guiding ourselves through the meanings and definitions of science by referring to the wealth of graphical illustrations that scientists commonly use to depict protein molecules. \u00a0We will frequently turn to the Protein Data Bank and the associated Molecule of the Month for examples of such illustrations.\u00a0 We will also be guided by a illustrations in books and other media,\u00a0 including <u>The Machinery of Life <\/u>by David Goodsell and\u00a0<u>Introduction to Protein Structure<\/u>\u00a0by Branden and Tooze.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Answers\u00a0from the world of art.<\/strong> The\u00a0<em>second activity<\/em> will be to address newsworthiness using our artistic instincts. \u00a0We will bring into discussion any and all forms of the arts as potentially suitable means to portray protein molecules. \u00a0We will critique existing examples from the small but growing genre of protein-inspired artwork. \u00a0We will share ideas and float trial balloons to carry ourselves to new levels of scientific-artistic inspiration.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Our own creations.<\/strong> \u00a0In the\u00a0<em>third activity<\/em>\u00a0each student will choose a protein molecule as a subject for artistic portrayal. \u00a0The artworks will convey meaning by giving a personal take on\u00a0<u>proteins that are being talked about, written about, and may even be involved in controversies, new capabilites, new discoveries, and other sorts of news in the public sphere<\/u>.\u00a0 Our artwork might highlight certain structural or functional features about proteins. \u00a0We might focus on protein evolution or how proteins fit in with society. \u00a0There are many facets to artistically consider in portraying a protein. \u00a0What is unique and different about this year is that our artwork will pinpoint proteins that are in the news.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/7\/77\/Newspapers.png\/640px-Newspapers.png\" alt=\"I read the news today oh boy\" width=\"640\" height=\"166\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><strong>What is expected of the student:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><u>Classroom participation is number one.<\/u>\u00a0The best kind of participation stimulates discussion across the whole classroom. \u00a0If you are not talking, you are not participating. \u00a0But if\u00a0you are the only one talking, you are not promoting discussion and need to work on your listening skills! At minimum you should supply\u00a0a comment or question\u00a0each day of the class. \u00a0Jump in!<\/li>\n<li>We will set various <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">deadlines<\/span> for our art projects, and you are expected to describe your progress. \u00a0Willingness to share personal progress at all stages will lend a team atmosphere to the course. \u00a0That is what we are after.<\/li>\n<li><u>Preliminary design review.\u00a0<\/u>You will describe and offering a preliminary design review of your personal project by week five or six. \u00a0This will include your news theme and your choice of protein (your top choice; this is preliminary, after all). \u00a0A good idea of the artistic media you have in mind should also be conveyed.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">A final design review<\/span>, present by week seven or eight or nine, will reflect the progress you have made in the assembly of your work. \u00a0The design should be nearly complete at this point, subject to the practicalities of getting the projects complete by the end of the term.<\/li>\n<li><u>A caption for your artwork<\/u>. A brief, neatly printed title and description of your artwork is expected to accompany the work in our public display. \u00a0We will choose a style of captioning (a stylistic theme) that applies to all of our displayed works so that work will have a professional touch.<\/li>\n<li><u>Attendance<\/u>. \u00a0100% classroom attendance is expected (aside from excused absences). Please realize that your absences detrimentally affect the whole class, not simply you alone.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Grading<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If a student comes to class, participates in our discussions, and meets each course deadline including the final deadline of producing a protein portrait artwork, that effort will be a sufficiently strong performance to merit the receipt of an A letter grade in this 1-credit colloquium course.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Learning resources<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>As mentioned above, we will make use of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pdb.org\/pdb\/home\/home.do\">Protein Data Bank<\/a>\u00a0and its\u00a0affiliated\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/pdb101.rcsb.org\/motm\/motm-by-date\">Molecule of the Month<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>I am happy to lend you a biochemistry textbook if that will help with your project design and completion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Cost of materials<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Art materials will probably cost you around $10- $20 (glue, tape, wire, other cheap materials). \u00a0Let&#8217;s hold down the cost. \u00a0Try to use the stuff you find lying around in the back of your closet. \u00a0Save money.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Protein Portraits 2023: Proteins in the News Course syllabus What is involved in taking this course? Protein Portraits BB 407H is an Honors College Colloquium, 1 credit hour. \u00a0We get to make the course anew each year.\u00a0 Our syllabus is &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/psquared\/welcome-to-protein-portraits-2015\/protein-portraits-2023-syllabus\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":196,"featured_media":0,"parent":1644,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2814","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/psquared\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/psquared\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/psquared\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/psquared\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/196"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/psquared\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2814"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/psquared\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2814\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2818,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/psquared\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2814\/revisions\/2818"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/psquared\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/psquared\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}