ENG 101-005
Fall 2016
ENG 101: Food, Feelings, and Film
Section: 005
Instructor: Amy Li
Meeting Time and Place: MWF 10:00am-10:50am, Callaway N204
Office Hours: Tuesdays 1:00-3:00pm, Callaway N201A, and by appointment
Email/Contact:
Course Website: http://amysli.com/eng101/
Course Description
Our relationships to food often evoke a wide array of emotions and engage multiple senses, sometimes all five of them at once; food thus has the potential to play important roles in the formation of who ‘we’ are as people, on social, psychological, and even political levels. Through writing, students will explore questions such as: How can we think about food in conjunction with affect – including love, national or cultural pride, and anguish – through our exploration of food and feelings in writing? How can we use food to learn more about ourselves as well as other inhabitants of the world?
Over the course of the semester, students will write and manage an assignment blog for class, as well their own food blog on Wordpress, which they will design according to their own academic, personal, and culinary interests. Students will write/compose in multiple modes, which can include photography, illustrations, and/or other visual components. Other assignments also include: writing a script for an episode of a TV show or cinematic scene about food; an online recipe review; free-writing about food that students bring to share with classmates. The course materials will include films such as Amélie (2001) and Waitress (2007), as well as short excerpts from books such as Marcel Proust’s À la recherche du temps perdu.
Course Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course you will be able to
· Draw upon an arsenal of key terms (such as genre, audience, controlling idea) for writing.
· Compose texts in multiple genres, using and engaging multiple modes (e.g. photography, film) with attention to how specific situations require different types or tones of writing.
· Select, summarize, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate the ideas of others as you undertake scholarly inquiry in order produce your own arguments.
· Write both academically and expressively, in order to make an argument using scholarly evidence and also write about one’s own experience as a situated human being.
· Build to a final result in stages, including stages of pre-writing invention and post-draft revision, with the understanding that writing is an open process which entails later invention and re-writing.
· Constructively critique your work and that of your peers.
These outcomes have been adapted for Emory first-year writing courses from a set developed by the Council of Writing Program Administrators.
Required Texts
To Purchase or Rent:
· Food Matters: A Bedford Spotlight Reader, ed. Holly Bauer
On Course Reserves and Online (or available for Purchase/Rent):
· The Norton Field Guide to Writing (all assigned chapters are on Course Reserves)
· Amélie (2001 film; in French, with English subtitles; English-dubbed version also available) – available on DVD, Netflix, Amazon Instant, and Course Reserves
· Como agua para chocolate aka Like Water for Chocolate (1992 film; in Spanish, with English subtitles; English-dubbed version also available) – available on DVD, Netflix, Amazon Instant, and Course Reserves
· Spirited Away (2001 film; in Japanese, with English subtitles; English-dubbed version also available) – available on DVD, Netflix, Amazon Instant, and Course Reserves
· Waitress (2007 film; in English) – available on DVD, Netflix, Amazon Instant, and Course Reserves
· Two episodes of Channel 5 television series, Floyd’s India (North India: “Amritsar”; South India: “Kerala”)
On Blackboard/Available via links:
· “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan (1987 short story)
o PDF uploaded to Blackboard; also available here (only read page 1): http://www.whsd.k12.pa.us/userfiles/1751/classes/12208/fish-cheeks-ws.pdf
· “Introduction: Feeding an Identity-Gender, Food, and Survival” by Norma Baumel Joseph (2002 article)
o (Link: http://www.jstor.org.proxy.library.emory.edu/stable/40326550)
· Excerpt from In Search of Lost Time: Swann’s Way, Vol. 1 by Marcel Proust: “The Cookie” aka the ‘episode of the madeleine,’ translated from French to English
o (Link: http://www.haverford.edu/psychology/ddavis/p109g/proust.html)
Course Policies
Attendance
Attendance is essential. Aside from documented absences for school-related activities or illnesses, you may miss two classes without incident. For each class you miss after the second, your grade lowers by one-third of a letter. You are still accountable for the work due that day. Meet with or email me at the start of the semester if you feel your situation warrants an exception to this rule. Bring appropriate documentation to our meeting or provide it in your email.
Late work
All assignments are due by the time and date specified. I will not accept late work without granting advance permission via email or in writing, and permission is not always guaranteed. Please ask me at least 48 hours in advance if you require an extension. If you fail to secure advance arrangement, late work will cause your grade for the assignment to decrease by one letter for each class period the assignment is late. Meet with or email me if you feel your situation warrants an exception to this rule. Bring appropriate documentation to our meeting or provide it in your email.
Contact/Communication
Email is the best way to contact me if you have questions or concerns. Generally, I will respond to all student email within 24 hours (although on weekends and holidays, it may take a little longer). Likewise, there may be instances when I will need to contact you by email. It is your responsibility to check your Emory-based email account at least once every 24 hours.
Academic Integrity/Honesty
Each of you is expected to follow the Emory College Honor Code (http://catalog.college.
emory.edu/academic/policy/honor_code.html). I take plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty seriously. Should I suspect that you engage in academic dishonesty in this course, I will refer the case to Emory’s Honor Council. You may also receive an F on the assignment(s) in question.
Safe Space (more info on safe spaces here: http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Safe_space)
This class and any of our class-related meetings are intended to create a safe space for all students. Please do not hesitate to talk to me about any situation that causes you discomfort, and let me know if there is any way that I can help you. These may include, but are not limited to, providing trigger warnings, specifying and using non-binaristic gender pronouns, etc.
Course Assessment
Assignments: Grading Breakdown
Proposal for Food Blog (1-2 pages long) – 5%
Research Log for Food Blog (at least 5 sources, 10 entries total) – 5%
Student Presentations on Food Blog – 5%
Printed Writing Assignments (e.g. film scene description, Waitress fictional piece) – 10%
In-Class Writing and Assignment Blog Posts – 10%
Participation – 10%
Final Assignment Anthology (5 revised blog posts with an intro and reflection) – 15%
Food Blog (5 posts, each at least 600 words long) – 20%
Final Portfolio with Reflective Essay – 20% (Reflective Essay counts 10%)
Assignment Descriptions:
In-Class Writing and Assignment Blog Posts (10%):
· Because this is a writing-intensive course, you will do some form of writing during each class section, especially during our weekly writing workshops. Collected assignments and blog posts will receive either a “check” (satisfactory), “check minus” (does not meet requirements), or zero (not completed). Most free-writes will not be collected/graded.
Printed Writing Assignments (10%):
· You will receive individual assignment prompts for each of these printed writing assignments, e.g. film scene description using film terminology and your fictional piece based on a scene from Waitress. (See Course Schedule section for more details.)
Proposal for Food Blog (5%):
· To be printed out for class and handed in; this assignment asks you to write a proposal for your Food Blog. You will write 1-2 pages about what you want your food blog to be about. Some prompt questions: what will the overarching theme/controlling idea (i.e. vegetarian food, global cuisine, food in films, family meals, GMO foods, etc.) of your blog be? Do you plan to include photographs and/or other images (GIFs, drawings, etc.)? What is the title of your blog going to be? Will you include recipes, and will they be your own, or from other food blogs/cookbooks? Note: At least two of your blog posts have to incorporate research; for this proposal, think and write about what kind of research you might include (i.e. quotes from a literary work, dialogue from a film along with your own commentary, citations from a journal article, etc.) Oct. 3 (Week 6)
Research Log for Food Blog (5%):
· This Research Log is to prepare you for your Food Blog; your log must include at least 5 sources (no more than 8), which can be a mix of scholarly and non-scholarly material. Scholarly sources include articles from scholarly journals (i.e. articles found on JSTOR) and books from the library; non-scholarly sources can include films, YouTube videos, other (established) food blogs, literary fiction, etc. You are to correctly cite your sources in MLA format, and then underneath this section write 200-300 words about the research source. Include a brief summary of the source and/or why you think the source will be useful, and also how you think you might incorporate the source in one of your Food Blog posts. To be printed out and handed in. Oct. 17 (Week 9)
Student Presentations on Food Blog (5%):
· Each student will present their Food Blog to the class, explaining the theme and including brief comments on the blog-making process. Presentation Dates TBA (Week 11)
Final Assignment Anthology (15%):
· This assignment requires you to select and revise 5 of your blog posts. You will write a brief introductory paragraph which describes your blog overall as well as an explanation for why you chose these specific blog posts (and why you chose to put the posts in the order in which you have included them), and finally, a concluding reflection letter which details how these blog posts relate to the course’s learning objectives, as well as briefly explaining your writing process for the blog posts you chose. All these components are to be printed out, stapled together, and handed in to me. Dec. 9 (Week 16)
Food Blog (20%):
· This Food Blog project allows you to explore what it is like to write and design a food blog. You will set up a free Wordpress site, and over the second half of the semester you will write and publish 5 blog posts to this site. The site must have an overarching theme or controlling idea, as outlined in the proposal you wrote earlier in the semester, and at least two of the posts must incorporate some form of outside research, which may be from the research you collected in your research log. First/rough drafts of at least three of your posts will be due in Week 12. (You will receive an assignment sheet for the Food Blog with more details during the semester). Dec. 5 (Week 16)
Final Portfolio with Reflective Essay (20%)
· This final portfolio will be a collection of several works from the semester which you consider your best writing, works which you think have improved most throughout process of revision and transition from blog post/in-class writing to the final draft, and/or works which you think most demonstrate how you have engaged with this course’s learning objectives. More details to follow.
· The Reflection Letter, which counts for 10% of this assignment grade, asks you to think about the course’s learning objectives and explain how you think the course fulfilled any of these goals, and how your writing has changed or improved over the course of the semester. Include specific examples from the works you have chosen to revise and include in your portfolio. More details to follow.
· To be published online: we will discuss the logistics/decide which publishing platform to use together as a class.
· Due by 3:00pm on December 14th
Participation: While this course is writing intensive, seminar participation is also important, as the goal is for students to learn with and from one another. While speaking in class is highly encouraged, “good” class participation does not necessarily mean talking the most. Other types of contribution include asking questions to both the instructor and other students, recognizing and allowing for time to think, as well as providing constructive comments on fellow students’ blogs. Participation means contributing thoughtful input throughout the semester which demonstrates critical engagement, helping not only yourself but also your peers and instructor.
Explanation of Letter Grades
A: An excellent response to the assignment. Demonstrates a sophisticated use of rhetorical knowledge, writing, and design techniques.
B: A good response to the assignment. Demonstrates an effective use of rhetorical knowledge, writing, and design techniques. May have minor problems that distract reader.
C: An average response to the assignment. Demonstrates acceptable use of rhetorical knowledge, writing, and design technique. May have problems that distract reader.
D: A poor response to the assignment. Demonstrates a lack of rhetorical knowledge and writing and design technique. May have significant problems that distract reader.
F: A failure to respond to the assignment appropriately.
Grading Scale
Percentage / Letter / Emory Point Scale93.00-100 / A / 4.00
90.00-92.99 / A- / 3.70
86.00-89.99 / B+ / 3.30
83.00-85.99 / B / 3.00
80.00-82.99 / B- / 2.70
76.00-79.99 / C+ / 2.30
73.00-75.99 / C / 2.00
70.00-72.99 / C- / 1.70
66.00-69.99 / D+ / 1.30
60.00-65.99 / D / 1.00
0-59.99 / F / 0.00
Student Success Resources
Access and Disability Resources
I strive to create an inclusive learning environment for all. I am invested in your success in this class and at Emory, so please let me know if anything is standing in the way of your doing your best work. This can include your own learning strengths, any classroom dynamics that you find uncomfortable, ESL issues, disability or chronic illness, and/or personal issues that impact your work. I will hold such conversations in strict confidence.
Students with medical/health conditions that might impact academic success should visit Access, Disability Services and Resources (http://www.ods.emory.edu/index.html) to determine eligibility for appropriate accommodations. Students who receive accommodations must present the Accommodation Letter from ADSR to your professor at the beginning of the semester, or when the letter is received.