Closing the Gap: Exploring the Connections Between Science and Society
A thesis submitted to Johns Hopkins University in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Science Writing
The blessings of scientific and technological advancement have never been distributed evenly. Gaps exist. This collection of work aims to explore the ways in which these apertures have manifested themselves throughout our society—yesterday, today, and in the future.
In the memoir The Disordered Cosmos, Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, a Black woman theoretical physicist, explains: “Who you are matters in science. When you’re looking at the world from the margins, a persistent feeling of ‘the sublime’ can feel out of reach as you struggle against the mundane and pervasive forces of oppression.”
As an aspiring science writer, I hope to use the power of storytelling to close that gap. I hope to inspire young people from communities like the one I come from to dream beyond their immediate field of view.
The forthcoming essays sought to survey the divides that exist within science and society. The socioeconomic gap between a curious child and an educational system not equipped to foster her curiosity; the gap in time and space between the enslaved people using the North Star to guide their escape and present-day Black astronauts who view that same star from aboard the International Space Station; and the ever-widening gap between contemporary technological advancements and the wisdom of a humankind tasked with wielding such immense power, just to name a few.
All of this work was written since 2024 in the Johns Hopkins Master of Arts in Science Writing program. I would like to thank my thesis advisor, my independent study advisor, my faculty advisor, and all of my peers throughout the program, who greatly enriched the experience. Above all, I must express my endless gratitude for God and my family, who have always stood in my corner and provided me with the motivation to keep working toward my dreams.