All posted assignments are technically “due” on the day they are listed so that we all stay on schedule. But you always have a one day grace period to submit your post without it being considered late. The grace period should be something you use a safety net for when shit happens, which it will. The course will be much easier if you’re doing your readings and postings on the day listed on the syllabus.
All mini-lectures (of which are less mini than is ideal) and other instructions about assignments are posted on the course YouTube channel, and I will post an announcement in UNM Learn when they become available.
First, watch the introductory video. Then, visit UNM Learn, and find the quizzes link on the left nav.
Just to make sure everyone is connected, and as an informal way of introducing ourselves, please post on the class Discussion Board in UNM Learn (should be an obvious link on the left nav bar) a brief introduction to who you are and one of your most vivid food memories—and why it resonates with you. These should be ~150-200 words or so. PLEASE DO THIS BY THE END OF MONDAY, JUNE 1!
Visit UNM Learn, and find the quizzes link on the left nav.
First, consult the reading response guide. In addition to the generic questions listed there: What arguments seemed most interesting or ridiculous about what constitutes American food?
If you agree with the general sentiment of the readings that authenticity is pretty flimsy construct, why is it so engrained in our food culture? How do you think it arose? Why do many/most people care still about it? What does it say about those who value it?
How do the readings describe how food and personal/community/national identity are related?
Learning Reflection 1 is due today. See the learning reflection guide and the first 10 minutes of the weekly reflection tips video. (the remainder of the video is a preview of week 2.)
We start reading Tastes like Chicken on Monday, though you are encouraged to read ahead this weekend. Even before you start reading, please consult the book reflection guide.
Think about and address the questions on the reading response guide. Note that unlike last week, from now on there will not usually be a separate syllabus or discussion board prompt for you to follow (too confusing!). Instead, you’ll just address the questions listed in the Response Guide. This should make it easier for you to talk about what interests you. Also note that the expected length of the reading responses has been reduced by 50 words (now 200-250 words) so we’re all not totally burnt out by the end of the week.
The below readings will help you do the Cookbook Analysis assignment that’s due today. So read them with USING them in mind, not for writing a response about them.
The following resources form the basis of the assignment demo, so I want to list them here, but you don’t need to read through these on your own.
The assignment demo video is posted on the YouTube Channel, and you can watch it here.
Follow the Cookbook Analysis Guide.
As usual, think about the questions in the reading response guide. HOWEVER, there’s one additional question to consider and discuss this week: Based on the Deloria reading (your response should make it clear you’re well acquainted with it), how much is the national holiday of Thanksgiving more or less a ritual of reaffirming institutionalized marginalization and oppression? (something you may have heard about in the news this past week…)
Nothing due specifically on these readings today. But you should discuss them in your weekly reflection due tomorrow.
Your reflection on Tastes like Chicken is due MONDAY, so you should be at work on it over the weekend. See the book reflection guide.
Learning Reflection 2 is due TODAY. See the learning reflection guide
These readings go along with the lecture for today, but you don’t need to read them separately.
Take the quiz at UNM Learn.
Your reflection on Tastes like Chicken is due TODAY. Remember to follow the book reflection guide.
Nothing due specifically on these readings today. But you should discuss them in your weekly reflection.
Skim through a few essays from The United States of Mexican Food (avoid articles that are just lists of restaurants) and comment in your post on the following: How do these articles create (intentionally or not) a definition of Mexican food? How are notions of authenticity or national cuisine at work? What do the articles imply about American food? How (if at all) is the story of Mexican food different from Chinese or Italian?
Sorry for the last second change, but I just came across this article published this past Monday. I decided it was much more important and timely than what was originally planned. It addresses the role of meat in contemporary American society, how it is tied to identity, and features numerous quotes from the author of the Red Meat Republic (and many other smart historians of food and diet). This is all I want you to read for today.
As previously promised, there is no required posting for today. But I’d love to hear your thoughts on the Whalen article. A THOUGHTFUL standard length daily reflection will get you 3 extra credit points. I’m interested in your opinion but make sure it’s grounded in thoughtful analysis.
Instead of a full lecture like for Cereal, I’m just going to tell you what I think is most interesting about the following readings that were originally on the syllabus. I hope you’ll skim them, but you don’t need to read them separately. I will create a short extra-credit quiz based on the mini-lecture.
Learning Reflection 3 is due today. See the learning reflection guide
American Food can’t be discussed without reference to American dieting. Wherefore our collective insanity about the relationship between food and health. How much do Fad Diets help define American Food? How should we understand the idea of “natural” in terms of American food?
As with last week, find the quiz at UNM Learn.
Your reflection on Red Meat Republic is due TODAY. Remember to follow the book reflection guide.
For today, your response should be directed at answering two specific questions:
We’ve read much in this course about how cooking is women’s work. Uniting the readings for today with the rest of the course: How and why is the food industry in general so hostile to women?
No reading for today, just the penultimate assignment.
See the Food Blog Analysis Guidelines. Think back to your cookbook analysis a few weeks ago. I claimed that the kinds of things you can learn from modern food blogs are kinda similar to what you can learn from 19th-century cookbooks. How much did you find that to be true or not?
This is totally optional, but a great way to procrastinate—there might be no better illustration of how Food Television has evolved than watching the first few minutes of these clips of Emeril:
Your Final Learning Reflection (for the course, not just the last week) is TECHNICALLY due today, but everyone has UNTIL MONDAY so you have some extra time to make it nice. You can of course submit it whenever you’d like. Use Slack to ask questions (email is OK, too)! I want to help you tie everything together.
This final lecture will highlight some of the key themes and ideas that I hope stick with you long after the course. To help that happen, there is a short quiz on these (as per our routine). This lecture is intended to help you think through your Final Learning Reflection (see the very last day).
UPDATED FRI 6/26: This lecture has been replaced with a short video with some advice for the final reflections due today/Monday.
For the last time (sniff), find the quiz at UNM Learn. UPDATED FRI 6/26: NO QUIZ. But PLEASE do the anonymous end-of-course survey in Learn.
Your FINAL Learning Reflection—over the WHOLE CLASS and not just this week—is due today. See the Final Learning Reflection section of the Weekly Learning Reflection Guide. I can’t emphasize enough that this SHOULD NOT BE A SUMMARY of what we’ve covered. Instead, as the instructions explain in more detail, illustrate how your thinking about food has changed over the month, and how your submitted work justifies what you think should be your overall grade for the course.