Interdisciplinary Learning Communities: Bridging the Gap between the Sciences and the Humanities through Forensic Science

Interdisciplinary Learning Communities are an integral part of the Belmont Experience: Learning for Life (BELL) Core for first- or second-year students at Belmont University. In an Interdisciplinary Learning Community, a single group of undergraduate students takes two courses in different subjects that are linked together through a common theme. CEM 1620 (general chemistry II), the second course in a two-semester sequence of chemistry for science majors, has been successfully linked with ENL 2015 (forensics in literature) over the course of four semesters. The common theme for these two courses is forensic science. Through this link, students begin to develop both deeper insight into the importance of understanding scientific processes and the skills necessary to accurately and effectively analyze and communicate scientific information. This chapter addresses the unique challenges faced in linking a science-major course with a humanities course, including introducing nontraditional chemistry texts into the curriculum and engaging students in an exploration of scientific analysis techniques not common to general chemistry. It discusses how to incorporate meaningful interdisciplinary experiences as well as how to analyze outcomes in the students' final projects - writing an original fictional mystery, including scientifically accurate chemical evidence. © 2019 American Chemical Society.