The Departments is a fascinating exploration of contemporary communication in America. Pushed to change, one university research department finds that they have lived comfortably on the sidelines for too long. Sleepy, disenfranchised and caught unaware, this group is flung into a competitive race to keep a position in their department. The stakes are high. Not only would legacy research be lost, but traditional viewpoints on plant genetics that ultimately help feed the world would effectively be changed … perhaps forever. As the department is torn between tradition and new ways, temperatures boil and emotions take over. Here is the secret world behind the plants that farmers grow, that you buy, and that ultimately sustain the world. Is traditional science ready to defend itself when asked, Why is your work important? On a small scale, in a small university, in a relatively small town the question is put to the test.