  Improving the scientific literacy of non-scientists is an important goal,
both because of the ever-increasing impact of science and technology on our
lives, and because understanding science enriches our experience of the natural
world. One route to improving scientific literacy is via general education
undergraduate courses -- i.e. courses intended for students not majoring in the
sciences or engineering -- which in many cases provide these students' last
formal exposure to science. I describe here a course on biophysics for
non-science-major undergraduates recently developed at the University of Oregon
(Eugene, OR, USA). Biophysics, I claim, is a particularly useful vehicle for
addressing scientific literacy. It involves important and general scientific
concepts, demonstrates connections between basic science and tangible, familiar
phenomena related to health and disease, and illustrates that scientific
insights develop by applying tools and perspectives from disparate fields in
creative ways. In addition, biophysics highlights the far-reaching impact of
physics research. I describe the general design of this course, which spans
both macroscopic and microscopic topics, and the specific content of a few of
its modules. I also describe evidence-based pedagogical approaches adopted in
teaching the course, and aspects of its enrollment and evaluation.
