Bring to class a food item of significance to you (perhaps a nostalgia food, or an item from the meal you write about, etc.). Be prepared to speak briefly about your offering for our feast.
Final Term Paper Due. You may write a traditional term paper on a topic of your choice (approved by the professor), OR you may pursue one of the following topics:
- DISSECT AND CRITICALLY EVALUATE A FOOD, a DISH, or a MEAL in political-economic, social, symbolic, and ethical terms. This will entail library/online research as well as analysis informed by course readings and discussions. You must engage and cite at least 4 readings from the syllabus. You might possibly work with the meal you offered a structural analysis of previously in the semester. We will discuss how to approach this paper in class.
- This course has covered numerous ways in which people around the world think about and invest in food's goodness, but it has not been exhaustive. How else do people think about food as good — and/or bad? Explore a related thematic topic that this course has not covered, or delve more deeply into one it has. As we've done throughout the course, be sure to join political-economic and symbolic analyses. You must engage and cite at least 4 readings from the syllabus.
You are strongly encouraged to speak with the Professor and/or TA about your progress on the paper. 10–12 pages.