The Meaning of Food

Hello and happy final week of break to you all!

This semester will be really fun and Julie and I are excited to get started!  We will be reading a neat book that is paired with a PBS DVD series called "The Meaning of Food."  Please order the book on amazon or whatever other textbook service you prefer.  I believe you can buy it cheap these days!  We typically don't ask the bookstore to carry it, so it is up to you to obtain the book.  

Enjoy this week!

Julia

FINAL PAPER!

Dignitas: You Gonna Eat That?

Final Paper
Due on or before noon, December 20th.Please bring your paper to my office, Tower 4143. If I am not in, please feel free to leave your paper on my desk (the one next to the window) OR in the mailbox on the wall outside the office door.

You will be evaluated on the following: The thoroughness and thoughtfulness of your essays. I will be looking for insights, demonstrations of critical thinking and successful attempts at making connections with our readings, presentations, viewings and discussions.

Your essays must be grammatically correct, spell-checked and thoroughly proofread. Points will be deducted for poor grammar, misspellings and punctuation errors.

Only questions 1 and 2 will be graded. Question 3 asks for an honest and open reflection on your first semester.

How long? My answer is “However many words it takes to thoughtfully and thoroughly answer the questions.” I am looking for answers to each question that are at least a couple of pages, but not more than four pages.

Questions:
1.  Consider “Food Rules.” Which one or two rules do you plan to or already have adopted? Why? Which one would you personally find most difficult to incorporate into your life? Why?


2. What do you think is the most important thing you have learned in our class this semester? How did you learn it? Why do you consider it the most important?



3. Reflect on your overall first semester experiences at St. Scholastica. What have you learned about yourself? What has been your best decision this semester? What decision do you most regret?

Saints Hats!

Hi ya from the UP (Upper Peninsula Michigan for those of you who haven't heard of that before)!

This has nothing to do with food, or our class for that matter.  However, I wanted to get the word out that I'm selling some Saint Scholastica winter hats for I believe $24 a piece.  This is my ski coach's adorable little guy sporting the hat.  They are super warm and would be great additions to your hockey fan gear!  Let me know if you want one!!  I have plenty for everyone!

Thanksgiving Assignment

There are a lot of New York City Thanksgiving traditions. For example, a lot of New Yorkers don't buy the frozen Thanksgiving turkey. They prefer to buy the bird live and then push it in front of a subway train. - David Letterman

Dignitas: You Gonna Eat That?

Reflection Paper

DUE Thursday, December 2

This assignment asks that you be an anthropologist at the Thanksgiving table. Consider what foods are present on the table. What do they represent? Mean? To whom? Generations? Genders? People who “married in?”

Where did they come from? What do they say about your family? Your culture?

What happens at the table? Who sits next to who? How long does the meal go on? What do people talk about?

As part of this assignment, do at least ONE of the following:

1.      Help shop for and/or prepare some of the food—DO IT!

2.      Interview older relatives about the dinner and/or the meanings of food in their past and current lives—DO IT!

3.      See your grandmother’s favorite cookbook and discuss it with her—DO IT!

As you write this essay, reflect on your reading, our class discussions and presentations and other experiences you’ve had this semester thus far. Seek connections!

Slow and Savoring

"Forget love, I'd rather fall in chocolate."  -Anonymous

The assignment for this week is to practice savoring (and write a blog entry about it).  Whether it be a favorite food, the outdoors, or your physics homework, the goal is to slow down and relish in the flavor or experience that it brings.  This can be a very positive addition to your student life as it is essentially an excuse to relax from the business of school and work.  Put your heart into this assignment and really tell a story of your savoring attempt.  I guarentee that if you incorporate this into your life on a regular basis, you will learn to appreciate the small things much more!

Have fun!

Project Research

"Welcome to the Church of the Holy Cabbage.  Lettuce pray."  ~Author Unknown


Attention all!  Whitney has asked me to post a few questions for YOU TO ANSWER in regards to her Food Rules project.  Please answer these before Friday.  I'm sorry we didn't have a blog question this week.  I'll be sure to come up with one for next week.

1. How long is your longest meal of the day?

2. When do you typically take longer than two hours to eat?

3. Do you care more about taste of food or the appearance of food?

See you tomorrow!  

PS- Let me know if you have problems registering tonight!

Botany of Desire

"There is a lot more juice in grapefruit than meets the eye."  - Author Unknown


I apologize for my lackadaisical approach to the blog recently.  I'm sure you all understand what it is like to be swamped with stuff to do.  


Last week we viewed a portion of the documentary about Michael Pollan's book "The Botany of Desire."  I found it fascinating the stories about potatoes and how the potato culture is crucial for existence.  Whether they are grown for McDonald's restaurants all over the world or simply for survival in indigenous environments in the Andes, potatoes are a necessity.


Here is your question:


Early Peruvians adapted to nature in their attempts to domesticate potatoes.  More recently, cultivators have sought to control nature, rather than allowing it to control them.  What are the long-term implications for the two approaches to farming?  Is one way inherently better than another?  How about in the short-term?  For the poor?  For local communities?  For global food systems?  Overall?


Have fun!