Danna
Jackson was a student in my 2009 UCSC College 8 Core
Course, Environment
and Society, where I asked students to compose a “scaffold
poem” based on Rick Bass’ “Activism’s
Paradox Mountain.” Danna’s poem evokes an uncommon
awareness (of self, society and environment) in her appeal
that we love, rather than mistreat, the animals we eat.
I'm eighteen years of age and
I'm from a very small town in the Central Valley called
Waterford. Since first grade I have wanted to become
a marine biologist, which is my proposed major at UC
Santa Cruz. My main interest for the health of the environment
was sparked about a year ago when I learned about the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" in
the Pacific Ocean. Also, growing up in the Valley helped
me realize how polluted the environment is and how important
it is for us to solve this issue.
Danna
Jackson
I love watching the energetic calves bounce through the
luscious green grass swaying in the wind.
I love being full and not feeling hungry as I try not to
think about where the meat from my hamburger came from.
I love the seasoned taste of a warm juicy hamburger topped
with lettuce, tomatoes, and onion.
Later on, in the day, I love to
think about how tasty that hamburger was, but I’m
soon struck with other saddening thoughts.
It may seem as if there is a paradox
here, but it’s
okay to want to eat meat. It’s okay to love animals
that produce this meat. It’s okay to love both of these
things at the same time.
What isn’t okay is to continue
to treat the animals that provide us with meat as badly
as we do. We should respect these animals and not take
them for granted.
I believe intuitively that people
should be able to eat meat without feeling like they are
doing the world’s
livestock any harm. We should be able to love animals and
not feel guilty for eating them. However, we must find more
humane ways of doing so. |
Teaching
When I began teaching writing at UCSC in
2006, I cooked up a bigger agenda than instructing my students
how to construct a winning argument or an extraordinary research
paper. I wanted to break through their consciousness about environment
and food. I wanted them to realize that every morsel of food
they ate, every bag of groceries they bought, every question
they did or did not ask the grocer, the baker, the butcher, the
produce person about where their food came from had an indelible
effect – either for the health of the planet or its demise
(and theirs).
I had several things on my side: a university
that boasted one of the most beautiful 25-acre organic farms
on this planet; a son who is a successful local organic farmer;
and an abundance of succulent new literature on food politics
and culture, paramount being Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation and
Michael Pollan's The Omnivore’s Dilemma. The result
was a writing course, titled “The Meaning of Food,” a
course that covers the beauties and beasts of our present food
system, and ultimately empowers students to become part of solution.
Syllabus
The Meaning of Food — Writing
2
Spring 2009
Course Description
Wendell Berry writes that there is “a
politics of food that, like any politics, involves our freedom … One
reason to eat responsibly is to live.” Since Berry wrote
these words more than fifteen years ago, a sustainable food movement
of national proportions has taken off in our own backyard, involving
a network of students, farmers, laborers, food purveyors, butchers,
chefs, restaurateurs, and consumers. Likewise, current debates
have intensified surrounding fast food, organic food, genetically
modified food, Slow Food, sustainable versus industrial agriculture,
and the ethical treatment of animals we eat. We will examine
the myriad issues surrounding food and, on a more savory note,
reasons for today’s piqued interest in food esthetics—farmers’ markets,
chefs as celebrities, organic farms, food blogs, and more. While
studying both popular and scholarly works, including such disparate
giants of food writing as Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s
Dilemma) and celebrity chef Alice Waters, we will examine
how food shapes culture, how corporations create markets, and
how we as consumers affect this paradigm.
Food is a heated topic; there’s a lot
to write about. Writing about food lends itself to rich description,
compelling personal narratives, careful analysis, and persuasion.
And so, with whetted appetites, we go to work: you will write
four formal papers targeted at a variety of audiences, beginning
with a memoir, followed by an analytical essay based on course
readings, ending with a research paper and an Op-Ed. In addition,
you are required to write a Foodie Review on a food-related experience
you have participated in over the quarter. To avail ourselves
of the opportunities on campus and within the community, we will
visit a Farmers Market and the UCSC Farm. Informal writing assignments
will also be assigned to generate ideas for major essays and
to continue honing your writer’s voice. To underscore the
concept of writing as an evolutionary process, each of you is
required to participate in peer editing and to complete multiple
revisions of your work. We also will spend one class period in
the McHenry library for a session on Research Methods to assist
with locating journal articles that speak to your research topic.
Required Texts
The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan
Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser
The Meaning of Food reader
Pocket Keyes, Raimes
Major Assignments
Personal Inventory: While
referencing Wendell Berry’s essay “The Pleasures
of Eating”, you will write a brief, yet searching and fearless
inventory of your food habits, attitudes, and/or philosophies.
Memoir: You will write a
personal narrative on a childhood food memory that has shaped
you in some way and reflects some aspect of your culture. This
is an opportunity to use your experience to develop narrative
voice and skill at descriptive language and sensory detail. A
memoir provides an opportunity to explore from a personal perspective
the theme, how food shapes culture. The memoir must tie into
a broader issue of cultural, political, or historical significance.
Foodie Review: The review
will be written in a conversational, descriptive blog genre,
to be commented on by a peer. Although the review is stylistically
more informal and contains more flair, it should be grammatically
meticulous. You will publish the review on the course WebCT,
where you can view each other’s work.
Analytical Essay: You will
write one comparative analytical essay. This is a cumulative
essay, requiring a continuum of notetaking, which will expand
as you continue studying the course readings. In this essay,
you are asked to take a position and support that position with
textual evidence, analysis and commentary.
Research Paper (Ratatouille!): You
will write research evaluations on three sources prior to compiling
a research paper on one narrow aspect of food. This paper will
follow the structure of either be analytical or argumentative
research paper. Those structures will be explained in class.
The class will attend a research methods session at the McHenry
Library.
Field Trips: You will visit
one Farmers Market in Santa Cruz* and tour UCSC’s Farm.
Course Requirements
- Attendance: Show up.
Be on time. Missing class three or more times may result in
failing this course. The same goes for arriving late to class.
Be punctual. At the end of class, please do not unzip backpacks
and put away binders or other such things. This is rude. Wait
until our time is completely up and the lecture has come to
an end, and I will do my very best to get you out on time.
If you absolutely must be somewhere and we are running over,
you may leave quietly.
- Note-taking: Take notes
during a lecture. This is not only courteous, but also an important
skill. Notetaking is a way to document valuable ideas for future
use.
- Reading: Do all the assigned
readings before the dates specified on the
Course Calendar. To develop your reading skills, read the handout “Reading
in Three Different Voices, look for key concepts in each reading
and paraphrase them; underline any words you cannot define
and look them up in a dictionary (which you should keep handy);
underline passages that you find compelling or especially well-written,
then write your response in the margin. Guaranteed, treasures
will surface!
- Marginalia: Writing notes
in the margins of your texts as you read is vital for developing
strong critical reading skills, generating new ideas, and locating
key concepts for discussion and writing. This may sound redundant,
but it’s worth repeating.
- Peer-editing workshops: Your
active, conscientious involvement in workshop not only helps
your fellow writer, but also improves your editing skills,
and ultimately your writing. To receive full credit on your
paper, you must participate in workshop fully. This means meeting
deadlines, thorough reading of your peer’s work, and
thoughtful writing of comments.
Academic Integrity
Plagiarism is a violation of the University’s rules of
academic integrity. Students are responsible for understanding
what plagiarism is. Plagiarism is to take another person’s
words or ideas and use them as your own, without giving credit
to the author. When you include outside sources in your work,
be sure to cite them properly. Refer to Handbook for Writers for
appropriate ways to document your sources. Plagiarism and other
violations of the University’s standards of academic rules
of academic integrity will be reported to the University, which
may result in failing the course, in addition to further disciplinary
action.
Core Course Requirements
The following enrollment conditions apply:
If you are enrolled in Writing 2: This
course satisfies the C2 (Rhetoric and Inquiry) requirement. Students
must have satisfied the Entry-Level Writing Requirement and the
C1 (Introduction to University Discourse) requirement before
enrolling. Students who did not pass their college Core class
in Fall 2005 with a grade of C or better have not satisfied the
C1 requirement.
Spring Schedule of Santa Cruz Farmers
Markets:
Wednesday Afternoon Downtown Market on Cedar
Street
Saturday morning Westside Market on Western Drive and Mission
Saturday morning @ Cabrillo College
Sunday morning Live Oak Market on Portola Drive @ 17th Ave.
WRITING 2 GRADING POLICY & RUBRIC
Adopted by the Writing Program 9/01
Final grades given in Writing 1/2 are comprehensive.
Grades account for all aspects of a student’s work over
the quarter—conceptual work of reading, thinking, and writing;
the cooperative work of participating in a writing community;
and the procedural work of completing reading and writing assignments,
meeting deadlines, and attending class, writing group meetings,
and conferences.
Writing Program faculty members will determine a student’s
final grade by considering all of his or her work at the quarter’s
end. During the quarter, students will receive written assessment
and advice concerning what their work has accomplished and how
it can be improved rather than letter grades on individual assignments.
Note: The final grade of D in Writing 1 or Writing 2 grants credit
toward graduation, but it does not satisfy the Composition (C)
or Rhetoric and Inquiry (C2) General Education Requirement. Students
who receive the grade of either D or F must repeat Writing 1
or Writing 2 to satisfy the C or C2 requirement.
A (or P)
The grade of A is appropriately given to students whose preparation
for and execution of all course assignments (for example, reading,
in-class discussions, presentations, group projects, informal
writing, essay drafts, and revisions, etc.) have been consistently
thorough and thoughtful. In addition, by the end of the quarter
students who earn an A are consistently producing essays that
are ambitiously and thoughtfully conceived, conscious of the
demands of a particular assignment, purposeful and controlled,
effectively developed, and effectively edited.
B (or P)
The grade of “B” is appropriately given to students
who have satisfactorily completed all class assignments, although
some of these efforts may have been more successful than others.
By the end of the quarter, students who earn a B are consistently
producing essays that are clearly competent in that they meet
the demands of assignments, are controlled by an appropriate
purpose, are sufficiently developed, and are accurately edited.
A “B” performance may well reveal areas of strength
that are not sustained throughout.
C (or P)
The grade of C is appropriately given to students who have fulfilled
course requirements although, in some instances, minimally
so. By the end of the quarter, students who have earned a C
have provided sufficient evidence that they can produce focused,
purposeful writing that satisfied the demands of an assignment,
is adequately developed, and is carefully edited although,
in some instances, achieving that standard depended on multiple
revisions.
D (or NP)
The grade of D is appropriately given to students whose work
has been unsatisfactory is some significant way: they have
not completed all the course requirements and/or their essays
have not yet achieved the level of competency described in
the Writing Program’s standard for passing work in Writing ½.
Students receiving a D must repeat Writing 1.2 to satisfy the
C or C2 requirement.
F (or NP)
The grade of F is appropriate for students whose work ni Writing ½ is
os incomplete or so careless that it does not represent a reasonable
effort to meet the requirements of the course.
The Meaning of Food
(Writing 1/Writing 2)
Spring 2009 Course Schedule
Note: You need to be prepared to discuss
the readings by the class date appearing on the syllabus
Week 1 Course Introduction
T/ 3/30
Assign: Food Inventory Essay
Assign: Three Different Voices on Berry’s “The
Pleasure of Eating”
TH 4/2
Readings: Karim (2), Wendell Berry (reader)
DUE: Three Different Voices Assignment on
Berry.
ASSIGN: Food Memoir
Week 2 Food Memoir
T 4/7
Readings: Petty, Tai, Allison (reader)
and Michael Pollan’s “Farmer in Chief:
Letter to the President Elect” in the Course Reader
Due: Food Inventory Essay
In-class: Reading Response #1 on the assigned
readings
TH 4/9
In-class: Discussion of “Farmer in
Chief”
Assign: Three Different Voices on FFN 1
Week 3 Fast Food Nation
T 4/14
Readings: FFN Schlosser: Intro,
1
DUE: Three Different Voices on FFN 1
DUE: Food Memoir draft, with copies
for peer editing
Assign: Analytical Essay
For stewing over: Ratatouille topic (aka Research
Paper)
TH 4/16
Readings: FFN Schlosser: 2, 3
DUE: Food Memoir revision
In-class: Reading Response #2 on FFN (you
may bring your notes)
Study thesis and paragraph structure (handout)
Brainstorm Ratatouille topic
Week 4 Why What We Eat
Matters
T 4/21
Readings: FFN Schlosser 9, Epilogue
In-Class: Reading Response #3 on FFN
DUE: Thesis paragraph for your Analytical
Essay
DUE: Preliminary proposal for your Ratatouille
(Research Paper)
TH 4/23
Reading: Singer & Mason (riveting criticism
of the poultry industry)
DUE: Analytical Essay typed draft,
with copies for your peers
DUE by Sunday Midnight: Foodie Review posted
on WebCT
Week 5 Omnivore’s
Dilemma
T 4/28
Readings: OD Pollan: “Introduction”, “The
Plant (1)”) “The Farm” (2)
DUE: Three Voices on “Introduction”
In-Class: Reading Response #4 (you
may use your notes)
TH 4/30
Readings: OD Pollan: “All
Flesh is Grass” (8), “Big Organic” (9) www2.wholefoodsmarket.com/blogs
NOTE: When you get on this site, click the “COE
John Mackey” link on the left of the page, then scroll
down to “Previous entries” until you get way back
to May 26: An Open Letter to Michael Pollan”
DUE: One page comparative analysis of Pollan/Mackey
Week 6 Omnivore’s Dilemma
T 4/5
Library: Meet in McHenry Library
DUE: Globally Revised and Expanded or New
Analytical Essay, with copies for peer editors (send a
copy to the instructor electronically)
TH 4/6
Readings: Pollan OD “Greetings
from the Non-Barcode People” (13), “The Omnivore’s
Dilemma” (16)
DUE: One page comparative analysis of Salatin
and Naylor from OD
In-Class: Workshop Analytical Essays
Week 7 Frankenfoods, etc.
T 4/12
Readings: Dupuis and Cate (be prepared to
discuss research styles)
Bring: Three pieces of research for Ratatouille
DUE: Annotated Bibliography on your Research
Paper
DUE: Analytical Essay Final
TH 4/14
Readings: Kriener, Shiva (2)
Film: – The Future of Food
DUE: First Evaluative paper on one
piece of research
DUE: Typed thesis (or statement of purpose)
and a sketch of your Research Paper ideas, using complete sentences
Week 8 Slow Food
T 4/19
Readings: Hyman, Slow Food Manifesto, Buford or Bourdain
Optional Reading: Waters, Ritzer
DUE: Second and Third Evaluative papers on
research
DUE: A draft of Ratatouille, with copies for
peers to take home; email one to instructor
TH 4/21
Reading: Pollan OD “Ethics
of Eating Animals (17)
In-class: Workshop Ratatouille
Week 9 Bi-Annual Meaning of Food Conference
T 4/26
In Class: Meaning of Food Conference: panel
presentations
Readings: Pollan OD “Hunting” (18)
TH 4/28
Reading: Pollan OD “Gathering” (19)
In Class: Meaning of Food Conference: panel
presentations
DUE: Ratatouille (Research Paper) turned
in with all drafts, evaluations, and notes
Week 10 Bi-Annual Meaning
of Food Conference and Celebration
T 5/2
Reading: Pollan OD “The Perfect
Meal” (20)
In Class: Meaning of Food Conference: panel
presentations
TH 5/4
In Class: Meaning of Food Conference: panel
presentations
(LAST DAY OF CLASS—NO FINAL; CELEBRATE WITH THE PERFECT
MEAL—OUR VERSION!)
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