Download Sociology of Food Syllabus and more Study Guides, Projects, Research Applied Sociology in PDF only on Docsity!
CONTACT
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Dr. Idee Winfield
88 Wentworth rm. 301
winfieldi@cofc.edu
SOCY 109.
Spring 2018
Office Hours:
T& Th 1:30-2: and by appointment
WELCOME!
Most Americans know little about the food we eat. Last night, as you opened your favorite box of snacks and read the label, were you puzzled by the number of unrecognizable ingredients? Maybe you wondered, what is all this stuff? Is it good for me? Why am I eating things I don’t recognize? Those are certainly important questions, but if we think more deeply, about the less obvious, social aspects of food, even more questions arise. Why did I pick this snack? What does choosing this snack tell others about who I am and what I like? How does my choice of this snack affect all the people and organizations that played a role in producing and distributing my snack? Why is it relatively easy for me to have access to snacks, whereas others are going hungry? Why are there so many snack foods? Whose interests are served by this? Indeed, there are many, many social aspects to food production, distribution, and consumption, and this semester, we will examine these phenomena from a sociological perspective. This means that we will be asking different kinds of questions about food than you may at first be accustomed to. For example, we’re going to attempt to answer the following:
- Why do we eat what we do, the way we do?
- In what ways is food a social marker that tells both us and other people who we are?
- Why is access to food and the choice of what to eat often a matter of social class, race/ethnicity, and gender?
- Where does our food come from and why should you care?
- Why do social programs designed to provide food often make us fat and sick?
- What does it take to create a food system that sustains people, communities, and the environment?
Indeed, food has many sociological “layers” – it serves as an identity marker, it’s an important feature of a society’s culture, it can be a source of both pleasure and pain, it’s a social system, and it is even a tool of power. The overarching goal of the semester, then, is to increase our awareness and knowledge by exploring how the contemporary production, distribution, preparation, and consumption of food reflects social and economic power relations among peoples.
F IRST YEAR
EXPERIENCE
R EQUIREMENT:
Sociology of Food is one of the approved courses in the What’s for Dinner learning community that will satisfy the first year experience requirement.
What is a Learning Community? A Learning Community links two or more courses, often around an interdisciplinary theme or problem. The two courses introduce you to rigorous academic study at the University level, help you learn to read deeply, develop creative and critical thinking abilities, cultivate effective communication skills, and introduce you to a variety of research tools and methods that will be essential to your success in college. Faculty who teach the courses may create cross-course assignments, schedule class activities together, and explore meaningful connections between the community courses and disciplines. These linked courses encourage students to make connections between their other courses and see how interdisciplinary courses can be related.
What is the Synthesis Seminar? The synthesis seminar is an important component of first-year experience. Joequise, your peer facilitator, will lead the weekly, hour-long seminar that focuses on making a smooth transition to College by discovering the wide range of resources CofC provides its students, and to become part of the university and local community.
SOCY 109
Sociology of Food
NUTS & BOLTS
WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?
After completing the course, a successful student will be able to:
- Demonstrate a general knowledge and comprehension of food and culture from a sociological perspective.;
- Apply some basic sociological tools to the analysis of food and culture;
- Explain how food relates to social power.
- Discuss the relationship between food practices and identities.
- Describe the complexities of the modern industrial food complex;
- Understand how the production, distribution, and consumption of food reflects deeper societal patterns and inequalities.
- Apply sociological knowledge to real-life situations.
- Look at your own life sociologically.
- Describe how food patterns vary according to race, ethnicity, class, and gender.
- Use appropriate tools and research strategies for identifying types of information, evaluate the relevance, quality, and appropriateness of different sources of information, and ethically and properly cite and reference sources of information.
- Through the synthesis seminar you will be able to identify and locate academic resources and student support services.
READINGS:
Many of our readings are available as pfd files or Internet links on OAKS (see the checklists) or links to readings on the Internet.
There is one book you need to purchase: Food & Society: Principles and Paradoxes 2nd Edition (2017) by Guptil, Copelton, and Lucal. It is available at the CofC bookstore, online retailers, and as an eText on Amazon. The rest of your readings are on OAKS or the Internet.
EARNING YOU GRADE:
Your final grade will be based on your performance on five (5) components: · 2 Exams 55% (25%, 30%) · Group Research presentation and Infographic assignment 25% · Engagement 10% · Synthesis seminar 10%
Grading: Grades are yours to earn, not mine to give. Decide now what grade you want and do everything to earn it! I’m here as your coach. Come see me during office hours if you have questions about how to read, study, or take notes more efficiently and effectively. I promise I don’t bite and I want to help you to do your best. A=90-100% A-=89% B+=88% B=80-87% B-=79% C+=78% C=70-77% C–=69% D=60-68 F= <
In this class, an ‘A’ is reserved for truly excellent work. A ‘C’ means you did average work; you did what was asked and you did it satisfactorily – nothing less, nothing more. Your grade is not determined by how much time you put or how “hard” you feel you worked. I use grading rubrics that assess how well and how completely you accomplished the learning outcomes of the assignment.
ENGAGEMENT
It really is true that we learn best by doing – this includes actively engaging with the course material by coming to class and bringing questions, offering examples, and participating in class activities.
You earn your engagement grade by attending class AND actively participating. To the dismay of some students, warming a seat does not count as engagement! To participate effectively and constructively, you need to come to each class prepared to talk about the readings. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and offer personal reflection related to the topic at hand. Keep in mind that quality participation does not mean that all comments must be brilliantly insightful; this class fosters critical thinking. Questions and incomplete thoughts about these issues contribute to the process of learning. Also, we can and should argue about ideas because that is the heart and soul of a College education, but we will always do so with respect for each other. There’s a big difference between attacking an idea and attacking a person.
You only receive engagement credit if you are present for the entire class session, turn in any preparatory assignment during that class session, and constructively contribute to group activities. You don't receive credit if you miss a small group activity, don't come to class on time, or don't turn in the preparatory assignment during the class session. If you occasionally contribute, you can expect a C or less. No class engagement work may be made-up.
Tell me what you eat and I will tell you who you are. Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826)
I went to a restaurant that serves breakfast anytime. So, I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance. Stephen Wright
TALK TO ME, BUT DO IT AT THE RIGHT TIME.
Please come see me during office hours or make an appointment to talk if you have questions about how to read, study, or take notes more efficiently and effectively or if you have any questions about an assignment — I promise I don’t bite! Before class is not a good time. I am busy setting up the technology and cannot give you my full attention.
C ENTER FOR STUDENT L EARNING
I encourage you to utilize the Center for Student Learning’s (CSL) academic support services for assistance in study strategies and course content. They offer tutoring, study skills sessions, and individualized appointments. Students of all abilities have become more successful using these programs throughout their academic career and the services are available to you at no additional cost. For more information regarding these services please visit the CSL website at http://csl.cofc.edu or call (843)953-5635.
FOLLOW COMMON RULES OF RESPECT
- Turn your cell phone COMPLETELY OFF as soon as you enter the classroom. Do not leave it on vibrate, and do not pull it out during class to text or check messages. Much as we like to believe we can multitask, all the research shows that is not true.
- Come to class, be on time, and do not sleep, chit-chat, or engage in any other kind of disruptive behavior in the classroom. You may think you are anonymous, but we all can see and hear you. You are not invisible -- so don't walk in front of me or over top of your classmates when class is in session (I get really pissed off when that happens).
If for some reason you must leave class early, be sure to sit near the door. Once you get to class, stay there – do not wander off to the bathroom because you will miss important steps in the material. Leaving the room in the middle of class is not okay.
- R-E-S-P-E-C-T Since learning about diverse experiences is central to this course, it is of the utmost importance that you respect your classmates’ experiences, differences, and opinions. Please do not carry on private conversations when others are speaking, that just kills the class discussion. Show respect by giving others your undivided attention.
CHEATING IS NOT A “GOOD THING”
· It should go without saying, but lying, cheating, attempted cheating, and
plagiarism are violations of our Honor Code. Anyone caught violating the College of Charleston Honor Code will receive an ‘F’ on the assignment and go before the Honor Board. Folks, it's just not worth it.
· Cheating includes using someone else’s work. You should be careful not to
plagiarize by claiming someone else's words as your own. If you do not know what plagiarism is, see the handout on OAKS under Writing Resources. You've now been told, so you cannot plead ignorance.
· An extension of this principle is group assignments. It is cheating to claim
the work of others as your own. That means that when you have a group assignment, your name only goes on the assignment when you actually make an equitable contribution ("equitable" does not mean "exactly the same," but it does mean that each member of the group has contributed in balance with everyone else in the group). I will ask each member of the group to assess everyone's contribution to the assignment and adjust your grades accordingly.
· Students should be aware that unauthorized collaboration without
permission--such as working together on an online exam-- is a form of cheating. Unless the instructor specifies that students can work together on an assignment, quiz and/or test, no collaboration during the completion of the assignment is permitted.
· Other forms of cheating include possessing or using an unauthorized study
aid (which could include accessing information via a cell phone or computer), copying from others’ exams, fabricating data, and giving unauthorized assistance. Research conducted and/or papers written for other classes cannot be used in whole or in part for any assignment in this class without obtaining prior permission from the instructor.
· Students can find the complete Honor Code and all related processes in
the Student Handbook at http://studentaffairs.cofc.edu/honor- system/studenthandbook/index.php
HOW TO BE A SUCCESSFUL STUDENT
Schedule of Topic, Readings & Assignments*
Part I. Getting the Sociological Lay of the Land
Jan. 9 Welcome
Jan. 11 Strengths Training and You!
Bring the results of your Strengths Training to class.
Jan. 16-23 Thinking Sociologically About Food: Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows 16 Day: They Eat Horses, Don't They? 18 Schaefer: Sociological Imagination 23 F&S Chapter 1
Part II. Food and Identity: Fitting in and Standing Out
Jan. 25 Food as a Social Marker F&S Chapter 2
Jan. 30-Feb. 6 Constructing Boundaries: Us and Them Jan. 30 Tuchman and Levine: New York Jews and Chinese Food: The Social Construction of an Ethnic Pattern. http://qcpages.qc.cuny.edu/~hlevine/SAFE-TREYF.pdf Feb. 1 Watch:The Search for General Tso (film available on Amazon, YouTube Red, and iTunes)
Feb. 8 Social Class: Taste and Social Capital Davis: Kale, the ultimate social climber, shows us how class affects taste. http://tablematters.com/2013/04/04/in-good-taste/ Caldwell: The Rise of the Gourmet Burger. https://contexts.org/articles/the-rise-of-the-gourmet-hamburger/ Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DBEYiBkgp Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyHS_-Umv4E
Feb. 13 Doing Gender, Gendering Food Allen-O'Donnell, Cottingham, Nowak, and Synder: Impact of Group Settings and Gender on Meals Purchased by College Students
Feb. 15 First Exam
Part III Industrialization: The High Costs of Cheap Food
Feb. 20-27 Industrialization of Agriculture: U.S. Perspectives 20 F&S Chapter 6 27 Watch: A River of Waste https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssxOJlWSe4M&t=1212s
March 1 Globalization of Industrial Agriculture F&S Chapter 7
March 6 Research Project Training Day, bring your laptop, DO NOT MISS THIS
March 8-13 Globalization of Industrial Agriculture (continued) 8 Watch: Banking on Life and Debt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFGrEVR-9vc
