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Food & the Body

Professor  Helen  Veit  (hveit@msu.edu)  Office  Hours:  Monday,  9:30-­‐11:30  a.m.,  and  by  appointment,  329  Old  Hort  SSC  499  Class  Meetings:  Mondays/Wednesday,  3:00  PM  -­‐  4:20  PM,  103  Berkey    

Goals: 1) Learn  a  lot  2) Have  fun  3) Get  out  of  your  comfort  zone  4) Get  passionate  about  food  

About

This is a class about food and the body. That might seem simple enough, and some of you might even wonder at first: how could you spend a whole semester talking about that? But looking at food and the body from multiple perspectives within the Social Sciences reveals that thinking about those two ideas at the same time has many, many implications. During the semester we’ll be talking about poverty, globalization, class, health, obesity, food safety, migrant labor, race, nutrition science, chronic disease, dieting, gender, politics, and more. As Mark Bittman argues, “to truly change the food system you really have to change just about everything.” Likewise, to truly think about food means thinking about just about everything, or at least thinking in synthetic, complex ways. Throughout the class, a broad Social Science perspective – drawing particularly from history, economics, sociology, psychology, anthropology, and political science – will help us do that.

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Books

* Melanie Warner, Pandora’s Lunchbox: How Processed Foods Took Over the American Meal (2013) * Course pack of class readings All books are available at the MSU Bookstore

Grades

Participation and Attendance 25% Small Assignments 10% Quizzes 5% The News in Food Posts 5% Shock Your Mom Posts 10% Projects 35%

Food Autobiography (5%) First Food Ethnography (5%) Final Research Project (25%) [Final Project Draft Video/5%] [Final Project Video/ 10%] [Final Project Paper/10%]

Final Website 10%

A+ 98-100% 4.0 A 93-97% 4.0 A-/B+ 87-92% 3.5 B 83-86% 3.0 B-/C+ 77-82% 2.5

C 73-76% 2.0 C-/D+ 67-72% 1.5 D 63-66% 1.0 D- 60-63 0.5 F Below 63% 0

Projects

Your biggest assignments for this class will be three projects. The projects are designed to be fun and provocative and to get you talking, thinking, and out of your seats. First, you’ll turn in papers and create a preliminary blog page for each project. After you get comments on your papers, you’ll rewrite them to act as polished site content for your final blogs (see below). Every assignment must make reference to at least two class readings.

1) Food Autobiography (750-1250 words) DUE: Jan. 21

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2) Food Ethnography (750-1000 words) DUE: Mar. 4 3) Final Research Project

a. Draft Video DUE: Apr. 20 b. Final Video DUE: Apr. 27 c. Final Paper (1250-1500 words) DUE: May 6

Student Blogs

Each student will create an individual blog through Weebly (a free service), which will be linked to our class website: foodbody.weebly.com. You’ll send me a link to the basic outline of your blog by 11:59 PM on Tuesday, January 20th. At that early stage, it will need five basic elements: 1) a home page with a title and image; 2) a “News in Food” page; 3) an “Assignments” page; 4) a “Projects” page; and 5) a “Shock Your Mom” page. All pages can be empty at that time. As you complete work over the semester, you’ll upload it to your blog (and we’ll work together during class on any questions that arise in creating and designing the blogs). For example, each time you find a news story, you’ll upload it to your “News in Food” page along with 1-2 paragraphs relating the news to our readings, so your final blog will have links to five news stories with an explanatory paragraph or two for each. When you complete a small assignment like the Refrigerator Photograph, you’ll upload that under the Assignments page. And each time you complete a project, you’ll create a new page under the Projects tab, so that at the end you’ll have a Food Autobiography Project page, a Food Ethnography page, and a Final Project page. Before the last day of class, you will complete and polish your blog, and then you’ll give a presentation on it in class on April 29. Finishing the blog will involve three main tasks: 1) Polish the writing of all sections, reflecting comments you’ve gotten from me on your papers along with any other improvements you’d like to make; 2) Update your Food Autobiography to include a new section (500 words) on how this class has changed your thoughts on food; 3) Complete your final Shock Your Mom blog post. Design is also a component of your blog: at a minimum, it should look neat and professional, and ideally it will be beautiful and interesting, with design elements that deepen and enhance the story you’re telling.

Smaller Assignments

All assignments (except for the class blog outline) should make direct references to our readings. Small assignments are due through your class blog, not in hard copy.

Class Blog Outline DUE: Jan. 20, 11:59 PM A Week’s Menu on Your Budget DUE: Mar 2. (by class)

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Refrigerator Photograph Assignment DUE: (by class time) Analysis of Twitter Database DUE: Apr. 15 (by class)

The News in Food

One of your semester-long assignments is to stay abreast of news related to food, and to think about how the news relates to our class. On the following five dates, you’ll post a recent news article on your blog before class, along with 1 to 2 paragraph on how the news relates to our readings. We’ll also be talking about the news in class.

News related to Industrial Food DUE: Jan. 28 News related to Migrant Farming DUE: Feb. 9 News related to Food and Poverty DUE: Feb. 18 News related to Food Allergies DUE: Mar. 16 News related to Obesity and Young People DUE: Mar. 30

Shock Your Mom!

Or your brother. Or your roommate. Or your girlfriend. You can shock whomever you like, but the point of this series of assignments is for you to stay attuned all semester to the many things we’ll be learning that would probably surprise ordinary people who might not spend a lot of time thinking about food. Four times during the semester, you’ll do a recap of what we’ve been reading, watching, and talking about, and you’ll create a blog post with two or three paragraphs reflecting on what’s been surprising, along with a list of what you consider the ten most surprising facts from our class material in that section. Note that your second Shock Your Mom blog post is in video form. It must be 90 to 120 seconds long and include the following components: video that you’ve recorded yourself; voice over; music; and pans of a still image. How you combine these elements is up to you, and you are welcome to introduce additional elements if you’re comfortable doing so.

Shock Your Mom blog post #1 (written): DUE: Feb. 4 Shock Your Mom blog post #2 (video): DUE: Feb. 25 Shock Your Mom blog post #3 (written): DUE: Apr. 1 Shock Your Mom blog post #4 (written): DUE: Apr. 29

Attendance and Lateness Policy

Attendance is required in every class this semester. If you attend every class, you’ll get Perfect Attendance Extra Credit, with two points added to your final average. However, for every class you miss after the first two, two points will be subtracted from your final average.

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Depending on circumstances, I reserve the right to consider several instances of being significantly tardy as the equivalent of one absence.

Quizzes

Over the semester I will give six reading quizzes. Quizzes will not be announced in advance. Each quiz will consist of one or two questions that should be easy if you did the reading and impossible if you didn’t. You cannot make up a quiz, but at the end of the semester I will drop your lowest grade. If you get 100 on all six of the quizzes, then you will get an extra point on your final average.

Academic Honesty

Academic honesty is a big deal, and I treat it as such. You’ll be doing a lot of writing in this class, and it’s important to know that plagiarism covers ideas as well as words. If you’re using themes or concepts from anyone else, you must give them credit. In general, err on the side of caution. One of the best ways to avoid plagiarism is not to use the internet at all when it’s not part of the assignment – and it usually isn’t in this class. I will always be happy to talk with you if you have questions about the boundaries of academic honesty or acceptable paraphrasing before turning in an assignment. However, if you turn in work that contains plagiarism, it is too late for questions. If I find that a student has cheated on any assignment or has knowingly represented the ideas or writing of anyone else as their own, that student will fail the assignment, with the option to fail the course. I also reserve the right to subtract additional points from the student’s final average, as I judge appropriate. As required by MSU policy, I will write a letter about the incident to be placed in the student’s permanent file. If a student has two instances of academic dishonesty in this class, they will fail it, and I will write a second letter to the student’s dean who will then consider whether to expel the student.

Special Policies

* This is a screen-free class. No laptops, phones, tablets, etc. Occasional exceptions noted. * Bring hard copies of all assigned readings and any other relevant materials to every class. * Unless otherwise noted, all projects should be posted to individual blogs before class and are also due in hard copy at the beginning of class; the smaller assignments and the “news in food” are due via your website only.

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This Might Shock Your Mom (Mon., Jan. 12)

Introductions. Syllabus. Activity: Spit on a spoon Discuss: Be thinking about upcoming Shock Your Mom blog post, due Feb. 2

* Read in class: Horace Miner, “Body Ritual among the Nacirema,” American Anthropologist (Jun., 1956), p. 503-507

 

The Nature and Nurture of Disgust (Wed., Jan. 14)

Discuss: Upcoming Food Autobiography Project Discuss: Starting your class blog Activity: Selections from Hungry Planet

* Kari Weil, “They Eat Horses, Don't They? Hippophagy and Frenchness,” Gastronomica 7, no. 2 (Spring 2007): 44-51 * Marvin Harris, “The Abominable Pig,” from Good to Eat (1998), p. 67-79

 

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (Mon., Jan. 19)

No class. Start class blog and be working on Food Autobiography.

DUE: Outline of class blog, with link emailed to me by Tue, Jan. 20 at 11:59 PM  

Thinking about Industrial Food (Wed., Jan. 21)

Discuss: How did Food Autobiographies and blog creation go? Reminder: Upcoming Shock Your Mom assignment Watch: Food, Inc. (start)

DUE: Food Autobiography (due in hard copy AND posted to blog before class) DUE: Remember that class blog outline due night before class

Pandora’s Lunchbox (Mon., Jan. 26)

Watch: Food, Inc. (finish)

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* Melanie Warner, Pandora’s Lunchbox: How Processed Food Took over the American Meal, p. xi-73

Pandora’s Lunchbox (Wed., Jan. 28)

Discuss: The News in Food Update: Shock Your Mom blog post #1 due in one week

DUE: One recent news article related to industrial food and 1-2 paragraphs about its relevance to our readings (posted to individual blogs before class) * Pandora’s Lunchbox, p. 74-144

Pandora’s Lunchbox (Mon., Feb. 2)

Discuss: Watch: King Corn (excerpt)

* Pandora’s Lunchbox, p. 145-222

Migrant Farming (Wed., Feb. 4)

Discuss: The News in Food Watch: The Harvest/ La Cosecha (start)

DUE: One recent news article related to migrant farming and 1-2 paragraphs about its relevance to our readings (posted to individual blogs before class) * Tracie McMillan, p. 1-56, The American Way of Eating

Digital Workshop (Mon., Feb. 9)

Discuss: What was shocking (or at least surprising) about the first three weeks of class? Discuss: Shock Your Mom #2 video blog post, due February 25. Note that the second Shock Your Mom blog post is in video form. It must be 90 to 120 seconds long and include the following components: video that you’ve recorded yourself; voice over; music; and pans of a still image. How you combine these elements is up to you, and you are welcome to introduce more elements as well if you’re comfortable doing so. Workshop: Class will meet in our normal location and then walk together to the LEADR Lab in Old Horticulture for an introductory session on video editing.

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DUE: Shock Your Mom blog post #1

Pesticides, Plastics, Problems (Wed. Feb. 11)

Watch: The Harvest/ La Cosecha (finish)

* Susan Freinkel, “Warning Signs: How Pesticides Harm the Young Brain,” 11 March 2014, The Nation * Susan Freinkel, “Trace Chemicals in Everyday Food Packaging Cause Worry over Cumulative Threat,” 17 April 2012, Washington Post

Food and Poverty 100 Years Ago (Mon., Feb. 16)

Mini-Lecture: American Food Spending over Time

* Katherine Leonard Turner, “The Problem of Food,” p. 1-27, How the Other Half Ate

Poverty and Food Insecurity Today (Wed., Feb. 18)

Discuss: News in Food Activity: Divide into partners in advance of jigsaw assignment for next class

DUE: One recent news article related to food and poverty and 1-2 paragraphs about its relevance to our readings (posted to individual blogs before class) * Joan Gross and Nancy Rosenberger, “The Double Binds of Getting Food among the Poor in Rural Oregon,” Food, Culture and Society 13: 1 (March 2010), p. 47-70

The Food Stamp Debates (Mon. Feb.23)

Activity: Wealth Distribution in the U.S. Jigsaw Discussion: What are the connections?

Jigsaw Reading Assignment

Everyone reads: * Malia Wollan, “The Faces of Food Stamps,” 2 August 2012, Food & Environment Reporting Network, Read and look at photos online: http://thefern.org/2012/08/the-faces-

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of-food-stamps/ Partner A reads: * Jane Black, “SNAP Judgment,” Slate, 6 August 2013 * Olga Khazan, “Should Food Stamps Buy Soda?” The Atlantic, Nov. 11, 2013 Partner B reads: * Christopher Cook, “The Hidden Benefits of Food Stamps,” Mother Jones, October 25, 2013 * “Forbidding Use of Food Stamps for Sweetened Drinks could Reduce Obesity, Diabetes,” Stanford Medicine News Center, June 2, 2014

Could You Live on a Food Stamp Budget? (Wed. Feb. 25)

Discuss: Upcoming assignment of planning a week’s food budget, due next class Watch: Food Stamped (62 minutes)

DUE: Shock Your Mom #2 (Video)

Fat and Poor? (Mon. Mar. 2)

Watch: Food Stamped (finish) Discuss: How did meal planning go? Discuss: Upcoming Refrigerator Photograph assignment, due March 16th

DUE: A Week’s Menu on your Budget * Tracie McMillan, “Do Poor People Eat Badly Because of Food Deserts or Personal Preference?” 27 June 2012, slate.com * Mark Bittman, “Is Junk Food Really Cheaper?” New York Times, September 2011

Digital Workshop on Videos for Final Projects (Wed., Mar. 4)

Introduce Final Projects: research, group videos, individual final papers Workshop: Digital workshop on video editing. We will meet in our regular class location

and then walk together to the LEADR lab for another session on video editing.

DUE: Food Ethnography paper (due in hard copy AND posted to blog before class)

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Spring Break (Mon. Mar. 9 and Wed. Mar. 11)

No class. Work on Refrigerator Photograph assignment and think about possible topics for final projects.

The Mystery of Food Allergies (Mon., Mar. 16)

Discuss: Refrigerator Photographs Discuss: News in Food Update: What are ideas for possible final research topics?

DUE: One recent news article related to food allergies and 1-2 paragraphs about its relevance to our readings (posted to individual blogs before class) * Lawrence-Minh Bùi Davis, “Take Us off Solid Food for the Foreseeable Future: The Landscape of Food-Allergic America,” Gastronomica (Summer 2013), p. 61-68 * Jerome Groopman, “The Peanut Puzzle,” The New Yorker, Feb. 7, 2011

Fed Up? (Wed. Mar. 18)

Film: Fed Up (2014) [start]

DUE: Mark Bittman, “Is It Bad Enough Yet?” New York Times, 13 December 2014 * Be thinking about topics for final projects. Groups to be decided next class.

Children & Obesity (Mon., Mar. 23)

Film: Fed Up (2014) [finish] Activity: Decide on topics and form tentative groups for final projects

* April Michelle Herndon, “‘Mommy Made Me Do It’: Mothering Fat Children in the Midst of the Obesity Epidemic,” Food, Culture and Society 13: 3 (September 2010), p. 331-349

Raising Taste: Baby Food and Children’s Food (Wed. Mar. 25)

Mini-lecture: Creating modern children’s food Activity: Short group meetings in class to discuss final projects

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* Amy Bentley, “Industrialization, Taste, and Their Discontents: The 1960s to 1970s,” Inventing Baby Food, p. 71-103

Adolescence, Obesity, and Body Image (Mon., Mar. 30)

Discuss: News in Food

DUE: One recent news article related to obesity and children or adolescents with 1-2 paragraphs about its relevance to our readings (posted to individual blogs before class) * Nicole Taylor, “Negotiating Popular Obesity Discourses in Adolescence: School Food, Personal Responsibility, and Gendered Food Consumption Behaviors,” Food, Culture and Society 14: 4 (December 2011), p. 587-606

Skepticism about the “Obesity Epidemic” (Wed. Apr. 1)

Watch: “How to Live to be 100+,” TED Talk (19 minutes) Discuss: What was shocking (or at least surprising) about the last few weeks of class?

DUE: Shock Your Mom blog post #3 * Julie Guthman, “How Do We Know Obesity is a Problem?” p. 24-45, Weighing in: Obesity, Food Justice, and the Limits of Capitalism (2011)

When Dieting Was for Men Only (Mon., Apr. 6)

Update: How is work on videos going? Primary Source Workshop: Weight loss/gain literature from the past

* Katharina Vester, “Regime Change: Gender, Class, And The Invention Of Dieting In Post-Bellum America,” Journal of Social History, Vol. 44, No. 1 (fall 2010), pp. 39-70

Thinness and Status Today (Wed., Apr. 8)

Activity: Group work on final videos. Laptops allowed in class today. Reminder: draft video, due April 20, is worth the equivalent of a project paper, ie, it is a big deal and should be as perfect and polished as possible.

* Charlotte Biltekoff, “Thinness as Healthy, Self-Control, and Citizenship,” p. 109-149, Eating Right in America (2013)

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Class, Taste & Marketing (Mon., Apr. 13)

Discuss: Upcoming Twitter Analysis Activity: Divide into partners in advance of jigsaw assignment for next class Workshop: We will walk as a class to the LEADR lab for a tutorial on using a Twitter dataset

* Joshua Freedman and Dan Jurafsky, “Authenticity in America: Class Distinctions in Potato Chip Advertising,” Gastronomica (Winter 2011), pp. 46-54 * Clifton Parker, “Online Food Reviews Reveal Inner Self, Stanford Researcher Finds,” 10 April 2014, Stanford Report

Class Critiques of Alternative Food (Wed., Apr. 15 )

Watch: Alice Waters segment on 60 Minutes Discuss: Twitter Analyses Jigsaw Discussion: What’s the Connection?

DUE: Twitter Analysis Jigsaw Reading Assignment

* Partner A reads: Julie Guthman, “Bringing Good Food to Others: Investigating the Subjects of Alternative Food Practice,” Cultural Geographies (2008): p. 431-447 * Partner B reads: Charlotte Biltekoff, “From Microscopes to ‘Macroscopes,’” p. 80-108, Eating Right in America (2013)

Video Presentation (Mon. Apr. 20)

Watch: A showing of the final drafts of all group videos Workshop: Providing constructive feedback on the videos Film: Forks over Knives (start)

DUE: Group Project Video, final draft (Reminder: draft video is worth the equivalent of a project paper, ie, it is a big deal and should be as perfect and polished as possible)

Eating as a Cure? (Wed. Apr. 22)

Watch: Forks over Knives (finish) Activity: Group work on final video. Laptops allowed in class today.

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Guest Nutrition Expert and Final Videos (Mon., Apr. 27)

Activity: Final Video presentations Guest Speaker: Dr. Katherine Alaimo, Professor of Nutrition

DUE: Final Videos

Individual Presentations (Wed., Apr. 29)

Activity: Individual website presentations

DUE: Finished websites with updated food autobiography and Shock Your Mom blog post #4

Final paper due in hard copy to my mailbox on the second floor of Old Horticulture by 5 pm on Wednesday, May 6.