ANTH 324 – Evaluation & Assignments

PARTICIPATION (20%)
Your active participation matters!  Contribute to discussion, whether through zoom or VIULearn.  The quality of comments and/or questions raised during discussion is how you will be assessed. Be an informed participant; read the assigned materials!  

Your regular engagement with VIULearn establishes your presence.  This means viewing content and/or responding to discussions.  Each student is expected to contribute to the general forums (a minimum of EIGHT posts in total).  Those grouped as REQUIRED are just that; the expectation is that you will respond to these.  Whether you do all or some remains your choice; your participation mark will reflect this.

Postings can be a relevant article or a comment on one that has been submitted; the latter should be a substantive comment, i.e., an informed opinion, not one that states agreement. Commentary should also be included with the former; why is it relevant to the course? Do not provide a link to an item by itself or with the comment: “Really good.”  Provide an explanation. Recipes do NOT count as evaluated postings.  

There will be REQUIRED posts, such as a summary of an article from Iacovetta et al, 2012 (sign-up on VIULearn).  Such discussions will be identified when expected by all.

Last day to post on VIULearn, if you want it to be considered as part of your participation mark, is Friday, December 18, 11:30pm!

For full credit (20%), you must be an active participant: (1) engage through zoom and/or respond to discussions marked REQUIRED on VIULearn, and (2) post to VIULearn (general discussions – minimum of 8).

OPINION PIECE (5%)
You are encouraged to learn outside the classroom by taking advantage of on- and off-campus events, virtually.  Attend an event and submit an opinion piece (no more than 250-300 words) through VIULearn.  I will regularly offer suggested events, including relevant webinars, podcasts, or documentaries.  If there is an event that you wish to attend that is not listed, please check with me.

opin-ion \ ə-’pin-yə n \ n. 1 a: a view, judgment, or appraisal formed in the mind about a particular matter.
(Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate® Dictionary 11th Edition)

As the above definition implies, I am interested in your response to the event. Your commentary is NOT to be a summary. Be reflective, support your opinion.

NOTE: This is the only assignment that can be considered ‘optional’; there is no penalty if you do not complete this other than missing 5% of your mark.  This is to be completed by the end of the semester.

EXAM (20%)
The exam is based on readings, plus The Hundred-Foot Journey and My Life in France.  Students will respond to two questions: one on The Hundred-Foot Journey (choice of two) and one of two others, with one based on My Life in France.  There will be NO final exam.

Answers should be typed, double-spaced, 11-12-pt font.  Please save as docx or pdf-format; submit through VIULearn.  No bibliography is needed, unless other sources are used.  You will be using your texts so in-text citation, such as, (Child 2006, 54) or (Morais 2010, 186).

Word count maximum for each exam question:  750

DUE: November 26

FOOD MEMORY STORY (10%)
Everyone has a food memory story—good or bad, happy or sad, e.g., the cooking disaster, a birthday or other celebratory event. In no more than two pages (ca. 250-600 words), tell your story. Think of this as a creative writing piece; if you want to compose a poem or word picture, go ahead.

You will be assessed on the content and your skill at conveying the story.  Submit via VIULearn.

DUE: September 24, with zoom discussion

FOOD “DIARY” (5%)
From September 28-October 4, you are to create a daily journal of thoughts and activities that are food-related. Each day’s entry will be a chronology of the day’s events but through the “filter” of food (make sure you date each day’s entry!). This is to be comprehensive–who, what, when, where, how.  Recipes are not expected, nor are they to be included.

For those who want to document their food ‘encounters’ through other media: compile photos (lo-res) with a max. 12-word description for each image; OR compile 20-sec video clips for each food episode.

The analysis will occur in the form of class discussion (zoom break out rooms) and online forum, especially for those unable to meet in zoom.  Your participation in discussion matters.

DUE: October 8, with zoom discussion

COOKBOOK ANALYSIS (15%)
Select one type of cuisine; your choice may be restricted to the cookbooks available (check the library, VIU or VIRL, as well as your own or family’s collection). You will be examining TWO cookbooks

  • one contemporary, AND one that pre-dates 1970**, OR
  • one that is produced in the country of the cuisine’s origin.

NOTE: If you do not have a pre-1970s cookbook, you can go online to Feeding America: The Historic American Cookbook Project or Bon Appétit! A Celebration of Canadian Cookbooks or Canadiana online (cookbooks). Each site has fully searchable digitized cookbooks.

**NOTE: There should be at least a 25-year time span between your ‘contemporary’ and ‘older’ cookbook.  This time span represents the average for a generation.

Some questions to consider: How does each cookbook present the cuisine? What are the differences, or similarities between the two? What do we learn about the culture through its food in each of these particular cookbooks? What accommodations, if any, are made to the cookbook’s audience? Who is the audience?

A cookbook is a historic document—an artefact of its time and place of publication. Your analysis should reflect this perspective.

Eat my Words: Reading Women’s Lives through the Cookbooks They Wrote
(TX 644 T47 2002) might help you with insights, as well as, Epp in Iacovetta et al (2012:173-188) and other e-resources that I have identified.

NOTE:

  • All written work is to be submitted typed, double-spaced, 11-12pt font size through VIULearn as a Word-docx or as a pdf.  Margins should be 2.5cm (1 in). A 5-7 page paper is approximately 1250-2100 words, excluding endnotes and/or bibliography (all citations are to be fully referenced). No cover page is needed; however please ensure that your name and student number are included. For further information on how to present and write a paper, go to: On Writing. Please review.
  • Whenever possible, incorporate your readings. Given Child’s (2006) commentary on the creation of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I expect many will reference some aspect of her book, which is one of your texts.
  • Citations should follow the Chicago Manual of Style (Author-Date). Paraphrasing also requires you to cite your source. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Students caught plagiarizing will automatically receive an “F” as their final grade. Refer online to “General Information” on these two topics. Wikipedia is NOT an appropriate reference source!  It is a starting point for your research; check the sources used in the creation of the item.

DUE: October 22, with zoom discussion

RESEARCH PRESENTATION (25%)
Your topic should be related to food culture in Canada (North America is okay). In any case, your topic MUST be approved by October 9. An abstract and preliminary bibliography are due November 6.  Your presentation can be either using PPT, or video.  Examples of possible topics: television cooking shows; cooking videos, and advertising.  Not meeting these deadlines will affect your mark.

Given that students are to maintain social distancing, please undertake library research, or use public domain resources, e.g., YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, etc.  No human subject research is permitted.

For presentations, a final bibliography is to be submitted with your presentation (your mark will be affected without it) through VIULearn. Generally, any form of media can be used in your presentation; it will be approximately 10 minutes, followed by one or two questions. You need to use your time wisely to make your argument or point(s).

For those unable to meet in zoom, expect your classmates to view your presentation online.  Any questions posed, should be answered by you.

Expectations for presentations: Although your presentation is to include visual aids, content is still the area in which you should devote your greatest attention. A presentation with lots of “flash” illustrates that you know how to use technology; if there is no substance behind the flash, your mark will reflect this. View my “Guidelines and Tips for Presenters” online.

For those who want to try something a bit different, consider the Pecha Kucha format: 20 slides, 20 seconds per slide, for a 6:40-minute presentation.

You will be graded on

1) content,
Your information should be relevant, informative, interesting, credible, and effective. Does it contribute to our understanding of the question/issue posed?

2) presentation style, and
Your presentation should be organized (well coordinated); and visual aids should be appropriate and enhance the presentation. If you leave your audience “wowed” and informed, then consider your presentation style effective.

3) discussion.
This portion of your grade is based on how well you handle questions and encourages audience feedback.

DUE: December 10
Zoom presentations: Dec 3 & 10

NOTE:

  • If you are facing exceptional circumstances (e.g., ill-health), please contact me as soon as possible so that an extension can be made.  Given the circumstances we are facing (pandemic conditions), I recognise that every student’s situation is a bit different.  I will try to support you as best I can.  Please keep communication lines open.  (See VIU General Regulations.)
  • Read “On Writing,” to ensure that you understand my expectations of a writing assignment.
  • If you need help with your writing, please seek assistance from the Writing Centre, The Library, Nanaimo Campus, Fourth Floor, Room 474 Contact the Writing Centre at local 2115, or make an appointment online: http://vancouver.mywconline.com/  As well, refer to the numerous “how to” handouts available online: https://services.viu.ca/how-to-handouts-on-writing.
  • Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Students caught plagiarizing will automatically receive an F as their final grade.  VIU Student Academic Code of Conduct (policy 96.01)

Let food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food.
–Hippocrates

Created 2014-07-08; last updated 2020-09-23.