FOODPOLITICS UCOR 1100-23 Fall 2014

THE POLITICS OF FOOD

UCOR 1100
T/Th
English Dept.
Seattle University

The Politics of Food

Course Description and Objectives

Food Fight. Foodies and hunger
strikers, famine and satiety, locavores
and dumpster divers, veg*ns and slow
food proponents, factory farms and
GMOs, animal welfare and sustainable
agriculture, overfishing and fair
labeling, food regulation/safety and
school lunch programs, food control
and distribution: these are just a few of
the topics we will explore and write
about in this course.
In-class discussions and (in)formal
writing assignments will take an
analytic and mindful approach to food
politics. We'll look, for instance, at
hunger and issues of privilege in meal
and food practices, what constitutes
ethical eating, and we'll visit local

markets and hear from guest speakers

to take a deeper look at the stories food
tells.
The public discussion of food politics
comes to us rhetorically packaged and
fraughtit is written for specific
purposes, to specific audiences, and in
specific genres of writing. In this class
we will analyze various forms of texts
scholarly articles/book chapters, oped pieces, YouTube videos,
documentaries, non-fiction prose,
editorials, advertisements, etc. As we
read across different genres, we will
learn to probe the authors angle of
vision, degree of advocacy, authority,
and authenticity in the larger context of
historical moment and audience.

This course will help you grow your

inner editor, writer, and scholar and will
provide the foundation for critical
thinking that you will use throughout
your college career and beyond.

W h a t s i n t h i s s y l l a b u s
Learning Outcomes &
Course Events..................................2
Grading Scale.....................................2
Required Texts....................................3
Instructor Info & Oce Hours.............3
Graded Assignments..........................4
Course Policies...................................5
Plan of Study.......................................6

FOODPOLITICS UCOR 1100-23 Fall 2014

Learning Outcomes &

Course Events

A culture that just uses a pig

as a pile of protoplasmic

Learning Outcomes. As the quarter

progresses, I expect you will develop in
sophistication as critical writers and
readers and discussion participants with
a more complex awareness of food
politics and your lives. To this end, your
success in this course will be evaluated
based on your demonstrated ability to:

Honor, celebrate, and appreciate

diverse food traditions and cultures.

Cultivate an operative knowledge

base around course concepts of food
pleasures, food security and
sustainability, food footprints, food
production, hunger, ethical eating,
and food as culturally situated.

Reflect upon, recognize and

articulate goals for a relationship
with food that fosters just and
sustainable food systems.

Hone college-level writing, reading

and discussion skills toward
development as a public intellectual.

inanimate structure, to be
manipulated by whatever

creative design the human

can foist on that critter, will
probably view individuals within
i t s c o m m u n i t y, a n d o t h e r
cultures in the community of
nations, with the same type of

disdain and disrespect and

controlling type mentalities.
-Joel Salatin, Lunatic Farmer

Learn basic rhetorical principles of

communication.
Learn to become rhetorically flexible,
and be able to thoughtfully adapt their
Write with sophistication to a variety
writing to different contexts and
of audiences about how food politics
contents.
reflect and represent a variety of
human experiences as they engage
Community Events. The required events
our emotions and intellect.
will help position you more comfortably
as a participant in SU campus life and in
According to the Core Learning
a larger academic conversation around
Objectives, this course also helps
food politics. Brief information follows;
students:
more details will be forthcoming.

Tour Central Co-ops Madison Market

(meet in class to walk together)

Develop broad critical thinking and

argumentation skills.
Become effective writers of academic
prose.

Other Events TBA

Food Panel and/or Guest Speakers

Buzz Hofford (SU Director, Bon

Appetit Food Service) talks about Bon
Appetits Low Carbon Initiative and
sustainable food
Pike Place Market Tour/interview
(during class, bus trip to Pike Place
Market)
In-class potlucks

Grading Scale
Final Evaluation

The French Paradox

The French eat three times as much
saturated animal fat as Americans do,
and only a third as many die of heart
attacks. Its maddening. -Laura Fraser

3.8-4.0 (A)
3.5-3.7 (A-)

Exceeds assignment requirements, demonstrates an

exploration or analysis that is skillfully developed,
strongly engaged, and employs a fresh perspective.

3.2-3.4 (B+)
2.8-3.1 (B)
2.5-2.7 (B-)

Meets assignment expectations for thoughtfulness,

engagement and length, as well as specific
assignment goals.

2.2-2.4 (C+)
1.8-2.1 (C)
1.5-1.7 (C-)

Provides adequate treatment of the assignment, but

does so in predictable, ordinary ways.

1.2-1.4 (D+)
0.8-1.1 (D)
0.5-0.7 (D-)

Tends toward superficial or thoughtless treatment of

the assignment, or is not complete.

0.0-0.4 (F)

Misses fulfilling the assignment goals or plagiarizes

material.

FOODPOLITICS UCOR 1100-23 Fall 2014

REQUIRED TEXTS
Ramage, Bean, Johnson: The Allyn &
Bacon Guide to Writing (6th edition)
Jonathan Safran Foer: Eating Animals
Sharman Apt Russell: Hunger: An
Unnatural History
Film clips and shorter readings to be announced in
class--more information on ANGEL.

From The Seattle TimesJuly 6, 2012

About Your Instructor

If 22 bushels (1,300 pounds) of rice and 22 bushels

of winter grain are harvested from a quarter acre

T A S H A N. W A L S T O N

field, then the field will support five to ten people

Email:

walstont@seattleu.edu

each investing an average of less than one hour of

Skype:

rockstarbob

Gchat:

tashawalston@gmail.com

Oce:

TBA

acre. Meat becomes a luxury food when its

Oce
Hours:

Tuesdays & Thursdays, 10:00a-12:30p (and

by appointment)

production requires land which could provide food

labour per day. But if the field were turned over to

pasturage, or if the grain were fed to cattle, only

one person could be supported per quarter

directly for human consumption. This has been

shown clearly and definitely. Each person should

I enjoy meeting with students and I hope youll make ample

use of my office hours. Im also happy to make myself
available online (in various mediums) and by appointment. If
you email, give me 24-48 hours to respond (longer on
weekends). I look forward to getting to know you and your
writing.

ponder seriously how much hardship he is causing

by indulging in food so expensively produced.
Masanobu Fukuoka, The One-Straw Revolution

FOODPOLITICS UCOR 1100-23 Fall 2014

Graded Assignments
This class is extremely writing- and participation-heavy.
See below for a breakdown of your final grade. More
info will be available in class and on ANGEL.
SUMMARY/STRONG RESPONSE ESSAY

or individually). The topic will relate to the course theme

of food politics.

Participation/Fellowship: Participation, informal

writing, quizzes, and low-stakes assignments (20%)
Engaged and thoughtful participation as a member of an
scholarly writing community is a foundational
in this course. See below for the criteria that
10% expectation
will be used to evaluate your engagement and fellowship:

ANALYSIS/SYNTHESIS RESPONSE
ESSAY

10%

CLASSICAL ARGUMENT ESSAY

10%

RESEARCHED EXPLORATORY ESSAY

15%

REFLECTIVE ESSAY

10%

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

10%

FORMAL DEBATES/TOWN HALL

PRESENTATIONS

15%

PARTICIPATION, FELLOWSHIP, QUIZZES

AND INFORMAL WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

20%

Summary/Strong Response Essay (10%)

You will summarize a complex argument and then
respond to it with a critique of the authors ideas and
rhetorical strategies while reflecting on your own
personal stake in the argument.
Analysis/Synthesis Response Essay (10%)
You will analyze an image or visual-verbal text in order
to understand its persuasive power and to hone your
visual literacy.
Classical Argument Essay (10%)
You will construct a reasoned argument geared toward a
specific audience in response to a civic problem arising
from course readings and discussions.
Researched Exploratory Essay (15%)
You will design and write a researched argument that
responds to a current problem/question related to food
politics.

PARTICIPATION EVALUATION CRITERIA

90-100% Student is well prepared and enthusiastically
participates in all class activities; is very considerate and
cooperative with the rest of the class; asks questions and
responds to questions; demonstrates knowledge of
course materials; consistently practices critical thinking;
actively helps to create a vibrant learning community.
80-89% Student is generally prepared and willing to
participate in class activities; is relatively cooperative with
the rest of the class; asks questions and responds to
questions most of the time; makes an inconsistent effort
to refer to readings and course topics; generally practices
critical thinking; helps to create a vibrant learning
community.
70-79% Student is often unprepared and reluctantly or
sporadically participates in class activities; often does not
ask questions or respond to questions; rarely makes an
effort to demonstrate knowledge of course materials;
rarely practices critical thinking; does not show much
interest in creating a vibrant learning community.
60-69% Student is generally unprepared, unwilling to
participate in class activities and unable to answer
questions; does not formulate questions or responses;
demonstrates little understanding of course materials;
does not practice critical thinking; distracts from the
creation of a vibrant learning community.
0-59% Student is absent (physically or mentally),
unprepared, inattentive, uncooperative or disruptive in
class.

Reflective Essay (10%)

In this non-thesis-driven essay, you will reflect on your
experiences in the course and write about the
ways these experiences have impacted your
understanding of how the theme of food politics
manifests in your own life.
Annotated Bibliography (10%)
You will employ the BEAM strategy (more information
in class) to create an annotated bibliography in the MLA
style in support of your Researched Exploratory Essay.
Formal Debates/Town Hall Presentations (15%)
Students will have the option of participating in staged
formal debates or town hall-style presentations (in groups
Factory Farming by whyayemann777 on Deviant Art

FOODPOLITICS UCOR 1100-23 Fall 2014

Course Policies & Resources

Conferences: I enjoy talking to students outside of class. Talk
to me any day to schedule a conference or conversation, or I am
also easily available by email or Internet chat to talk about
school and class concerns and interests you have.

Preparation and Time Management: UCOR 1100 is a 5-hour

class. Two to three hours of outside work for each hour of class
is the standard formula for undergraduate college coursework,
so 10-15 hours of outside preparation minimum is required
of you each week for reading, writing, and other work. More
reading and homework is required over the weekend than
between weekday classes, so plan ahead and accordingly.
Technology: Out of courtesy to your instructor and classmates,
all cell phones must be turned to silent and put away during
class. Personal computers/tablets may be used, but only to take
notes or access course materials. Disregard for this policy will
negatively affect your participation grade.
Academic Honesty: Seattle University is committed to the
principle that academic honesty and integrity are important
values in the educational process. Academic dishonesty in
any form is a serious offense against the academic community.
Acts of academic dishonesty will be addressed according to the
Academic Honesty Policy. Read the full policy here. (NB: All
major assignments for this class will be run through plagiarismchecking software.)
Disability Policy: If you have--or think you may have--a
disability (including an invisible disability such as a
learning disability, a chronic health problem, or a mental health
condition) that interferes with your performance as a student in
this class, you are encouraged to discuss your needs and arrange
support services and/or accommodation through Disability
Services Staff at the Learning Center in Loyola Hall 100
(206-296-5740). I am also more than happy to make
arrangements/agreements that work for both of us.
Safe Space: Our class is a hate-free safer space for everyone.
The core idea in a safer space is to become aware of and
proactive about checking our own privilege(s) with regard to
classmates who may not share that privilege. This encompasses
those of us who may identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender (including genderqueer or gender-nonconforming
people), queer, questioning, intersex, straight ally, etc. Safer
space also extends to folks of different abilities (physical/
cognitive/mental/learning disability, chronic illness, and
invisible disabilities), ethnicities, social classes, body sizes,
and religions. In a class about literature, it only makes sense to
be conscious of and thoughtful about the language we use. In
that vein, I ask that you avoid using language such as gay
or retarded to mean stupid and respecting folks
preferred pronouns (he/she, they/them, etc.). (There can be a
learning curve in safer spaces, so please read this and see me if
you have questions or worry youve inadvertently hurt a
classmate.) More information on ANGEL.
Email: For organizational purposes, all email should be sent
via ANGEL. If you bypass ANGEL, you will likely not receive
a response. I have ANGEL messages forwarded and typically
check my messages twice a day (Monday-Friday), once in the
morning and once again in the afternoon. Im happy to stay

connected with you via email, but please allow 48 hours

response time. I do not typically check email on the weekend.
Limit emails to quick questions; office hours or appointments
are the best way for us to address more complex questions and
concerns. If the answer can be found on ANGEL or in the
syllabus, please do not email me as I will only refer you to
those sources. Please carefully review these tips on how to
email your college professor.
Tardy Arrivals: Arriving late to class may happen for any of us
once or twice, and it is generally much better to be late than not
to show up at all. But a pattern of tardiness on your part will
create the impression that you are rude, disrespectful, and not
serious about the course. I will definitely notice if you are tardy
more than a couple of times, and your participation grade will
suffer (see the previous page for details on your participation
grade). I take attendance promptly at the beginning of each
class session; if you arrive late you will be marked absent.
Please stay after class to ask me to change your attendance
from absent to tardy.
EACH CLASS INTRODUCES SEQUENTIAL CONCEPTS/
TECHNIQUES THAT BUILD ON THOSE FROM THE
PREVIOUS SESSION. MISSING CLASS OR ARRIVING
TARDY SERIOUSLY AFFECTS YOUR ABILITY TO
PERFORM IN THE COURSE.

If you must miss class:

email me beforehand to let me know; be sure to include
attachments of any material due that day
check the syllabus to find out what youre missing
ask a classmate for notes and important information
bring printed copies of your work to turn in at our next
meeting
keep track of your absences and remember that you
can miss up to two meetings without penalty

Do not:
email after your absence to ask what you missed.
Instead, ask a classmate to fill you in (I will not answer
these types of emails). Imagine if I narrated the class
for each absent student in each of my classes!

be your most interesting self and do

your most excellent writing when you determine what
is important to you, and what you are willing to
You will

struggle to find language and eective rhetorical

strategies to express.
-Prof. Victoria Kill