My favourite meal analysis

Anthropology 222 Course Assignments Guide Please refer to this guide to help you prepare your assignments for the course. If you still have questions, after reading this document, please email your professor. If you email with a request for information that is included in this guide, you will be referred back to the guide. EVALUATION PROFILE Foodscape Grounded Paper 20% My Favourite Meal Analysis 20% Three Short Answer Tests (2 x 10%, 1 x 15% each) 35% Final Exam 25% Total 100% COURSE ASSIGNMENTS Please note you have one opportunity to submit your best work for each assignment, on the date it is due. No alternative assignments are available. If you are unclear about any of the instructions or require assistance, you are expected to visit virtual office hours, well in advance, of the due date. Short Answer Tests Test 1 will cover the short prologue and next two topics (10%), you will have 15 timed minutes to completed this test. Test 2 will cover the next two topics (10%), and will also be 15 timed minutes. Test 3 will cover the next three topics (15%), and you will have 20 timed minutes to complete this test. Each test will be based on the assigned textbook chapters, and posted course resources, such as slides, films, and worksheets. Each test will be made available at a designated timeslot, with only one attempt permitted. The tests will be short answer questions requiring the thoughtful application of course material. Specific dates and times will be posted on the course eLearn site. The tests will be on Mondays from 8pm – midnight, during which time you choose when you take the test, but you will have only one timed attempt. The dates of the tests are 1. Monday October 5th. 2. Monday October 26th. 3. Monday November 16th. To prepare for the tests you should review:

• Your chapter reading notes. • Make sure you can meet all the learning objectives for each topic. • Review your notes from the posted topic slides. • Review your notes to any film material posted. • Use the glossaries – in textbook and posted to eLearn, to remember specific terms. • Make sure you know the names of anthropologists, the different cultures mentioned as

examples, and you are familiar with each chapter’s concepts. • Make sure you have looked at all material for each topic posted on eLearn.

Foodscape Grounded Paper A 500-700 word paper, including 3 pictures (your own, taken during the course), to explore an assigned chapter’s themes, concepts, and terms, as applied to the student’s own foodscape and daily experiences with food. One of the topics from 1-7 will be assigned to each student, with paper due the week after the topic has been posted. The paper will be submitted as a word document through the assignment dropbox on course eLearn site, on the appropriate posted due dates.

The paper is to discuss your observations about your foodscape, illustrated by the photographs, in relation to the content covered in the course, including the textbook and slides, and content posted on the eLearn site. It is about your insights using the topic material. No other sources are to be used. Students are to work on this paper independently. Students should not waste any of their time looking on-line for information. Doing so will only be a waste of your time. The objective of this paper is to have you link your experiences with chapters from the text and the posted course material, such as on slides. Nothing on the internet will help you with this. The paper should be between 500 and 700 words. There is no need to cite sources in the paper, unless you are using quotations.

Recommended Format

• Write an Introduction of about 100 words stating (i) which topic you are covering, and what your focus is on relating it to Anthropology 222 course content provided in the textbook and the posted slides, and (ii) where and when you took your photographs. For example: “This paper explores the topic of omnivorousness by illustrating the topic themes of nutrient needs, dietary diversity, and …”

• Write at least two paragraphs for each photograph to clearly explain your insights in relation to the topic’s terms, concepts, and examples.

The paper will be evaluated on:

• The quality, depth, and relevancy of your insights (making it clear that the photographs provide examples of specific things in the chapters or slides rather than general. For example, look at the photographs in the assigned topic’s textbook chapter, and note how these reference terms and concepts in the content. You cannot simply say, for example, a photograph depicts a healthy meal. You will need to explain why it is classed as “healthy”, and who determines this quality?

• The insights to course material are applied to demonstrably real examples, i.e. taken during the course, by the student.

• How well the paper is written (e.g. paragraph and sentence structure, proof reading). The paper will be submitted as a word document through the assignment dropbox on course eLearn site, on the appropriate posted due dates. My Favourite Meal Analysis This assignment has two components. Firstly, submission of an outline of the meal, following guidelines posted on eLearn. This will be a one page summary, due on October 20, by 6 pm. It will be submitted as word document attachment sent by email to your professor. Secondly, a paper of 700-1000 words that anthropologically analyses the meal, using course content, including appropriate terms and concepts. It will apply an autoethnographic approach. Due on December 7th, by 6 pm. 1. Outline of the Meal.

This is a synopsis of the content of your meal – the where, when, what, how, and the who (family, friends, guests) of the meal. See pages 158-170 of Eating Culture, for some ideas, but this will be most useful when you write the analysis. This outline is a short 1-page description of your favourite meal. It gives me a chance to give you some advice, and it gets you started on the paper. Recommended Format:

• Heading with your name and student number. • Separate sections for:

• Where – a few words to describe where you would host your meal. • When – a few words to describe the time of year, time of day, a celebration of an

event? • What – a few words to describe what you would eat. I recommend you think of this a

menu with courses, including all dishes that could be eaten. • How – a few words to describe the formality of the meal, the decorations, clothing

requirements. • Who – a few words to detail the guest list, and why you would include them, such as

your relationship with them Submit as a word document attachment, October 20th, by 6 pm, by email sent directly to your professor – [email protected] 2. Analysis Paper. As with the other paper, this paper is to apply content covered in the course, including the textbook and slides, and content posted on the eLearn site. It is about your application of course material, and no other sources are to be used. Students are to work on this paper independently. Students should not waste any of their time looking on-line for information. Doing so will only be a waste of your time. The objective of this paper is to have you link your experiences with chapters from the text and the posted course material, such as on slides. Nothing on the internet will help you with this. Recommended Format:

• Title with your name and student number. • You will write using an autoethnographic approach, which means you can use the first person

(“me” and “I”), as you describe your culture, and social relations. • Write an introductory paragraph of about 100 words to introduce yourself and why this is

your favourite meal. You will need to address the meaning of your choices in relation to you as a biological being – i.e. your nutrient needs, and in reference to your personal tastes, your sense of self, and as part of your identity-work as person.

• You will write a second paragraph to describe the food itself, within the outline of the where, when, what, how, and the who provided in the synopsis. This should be about 100 words.

• Then you will include a short paragraph (100 words) for each of the following – the ingredients and flavours of your meal, the cooking techniques and aesthetics, and the style of eating of your meal.

• Write a reflection on the meaning of this meal, how any or all of the public food discourses have influenced your choices, and how it satisfies you – physically, culturally, socially, and emotionally.

• Finally you will draw some conclusions about why you want to eat what you have chosen to describe… answering the course’s central question.

Your paper will be evaluated on:

• The quality, quantity, and relevancy of your use of course terms and concepts in your discussion of your meal choices.

• Your ability to go further than making general observations, adding thought and depth, to your discussion of the meal.

• The seriousness of your assessment of the meal’s meaning and value as part of your identity- work.

• The depth of your answer to the course’s central question. • How well the paper is written (e.g. paragraph and sentence structure, proof reading).

Final Exam The final exam will cover the remaining course topics, and follow the same format as the biweekly tests, except for the timeslots. It will be cumulative in the sense of understanding the anthropological approach to understanding why humans eat what they do. The exam will be scheduled during the final examination period by the Registrar’s Office, the date will be posted on the university website.