Communications Studies (COMS) 40103 - Lecture 98
Food Culture
Winter 2007
Saturdays 13:00-17:00 January 13, 20, 27, February 3, 10, March 3, 10, 24, Final Exam April 14.   

Instructor:	Dr. Dawn Johnston and Ms. Lisa Stowe
Office Location:	MLT 818 and SS301
Office Phone:	220-8373 and 220-2580
E-Mail:	debjohns@ucalgary.ca or lstowe@ucalgary.ca
Web Page:
Office Hours:	By Appointment

Additional Information

The most reliable, efficient, and effective way to reach either instructor is by e-mail. Dawn Johnston can be reached at debjohns@ucalgary.ca and Lisa Stowe can be reached at lstowe@ucalgary.ca.

Course Description

Like film, television, music, art, and other cultural products and processes, the culture and traditions of food are ideal sites for cultural and communicative analysis. The past three to five years have seen the development of exclusive Food Network television, the growing cult of the celebrity chef, and the explosion of high-end restaurants in both urban and rural areas. As a culture, our interest in food is nothing new -- certainly, the traditions of sharing meals have long been key communicative processes in societies worldwide. But our fascination with the rhetoric of food, the glamour of restaurant life, and the fame of cooking gurus and lifestyle 'experts' is timely and significant. Food, cooking, and eating are distinct in their relationships to ethnicity, class, education, gender, and sexuality -- all of the key identifiers and appetities that define contemporary cultural studies.

Objectives of the Course

Through lectures, field trips, examples from popular culture, and class discussions, this course will offer students analysis of and insight into the following:

1. The rhetoric of food writing and food television

2. The marketing of particular niche restaurants

3. The organizational communication processes in the hierarchy of a restaurant

4. The creation of the celebrity chef as popular culture icon

5. The role of ethnicity and multi-culturalism in urban restaurants

7. The cultural traditions of breaking bread and sharing meals

8. Food across popular cultural genres -- television, film, etc.

9. Food in the context of political and social activism

10. The cookbook as cultural artifact

Textbooks and Readings:

Bourdain, Anthony. Kitchen Confidential. 2000. (required)

Reichl, Ruth. Garlic and Sapphires. 2006 (required)

Readings Package for COMS 401.03 (required)

The Bourdain and Reichl texts may be purchased either new or secondhand, but please note that the Custom Readings Package is NEW this year, and must be purchased through the University Bookstore.

Assignments and Evaluation

It is the student's responsibility to keep a copy of each submitted assignment.

Note: Please return assignments directly to the instructor if possible. If it is not possible to do so, a daytime drop box is available in SS110; a date stamp is provided for your use. A night drop box is also available for after-hours submission. Assignments will be removed the following morning, stamped with the previous day's date, and placed in the instructor's mailbox. DO NOT SLIDE ASSIGNMENTS UNDERNEATH INSTRUCTORS' DOORS.

Restaurant Review 10% January 27

Midterm Exam 15% February 3

Term Paper 25% March 24

Book Review 15% Ongoing due dates (See description of Book Review below)

Participation 10% Ongoing

Final Exam 25% Registrar Scheduled

The restaurant review is an individual assignment, written about a Calgary restaurant of each student's own choosing. Details of review writing will be discussed in class. Reviews should be a minimum of 400-500 words in length.

The midterm and final examinations will cover material from the readings, field trips, lectures, and class discussions. The examinations will consist of essay questions.

The term paper is research-based, on a topic of the student's choosing, and should be 6-8 double-spaced, typewritten pages in length. Please note: topics MUST be approved by one of the instructors.

Throughout the term students have to pick one book related to food culture and present a brief review and synopsis on that book to the class. The choice of text is up to the student but should be approved by the instructors, and can include memoir, autobiography, fiction, and anthologies, to name a few. Cook books or Recipe books are not included in this list. A typed copy of the review must be handed in on the day of the presentation.

This course relies heavily upon participation. Students are expected to attend, and to participate in all activities and discussions. Students who do not participate in the activities listed above will be deducted marks accordingly.

Please note: You must complete all assignments to receive a passing grade in this course.

Registrar-scheduled Final Examination: Yes

Please note: If your class is held in the evening, the Registrar's Office will make every attempt to schedule the final exam during the evening; however, there is NO guarantee that the exam will NOT be scheduled during the day.

Policy for Late Assignments

Assignments submitted after the deadline may be penalized with the loss of 10% for each day late.

Writing Skills Statement

Faculty policy directs that all written assignments (including, although to a lesser extent, written exam responses) will be assessed at least partly on writing skills. For details see www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/info. Writing skills include not only surface correctness (grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, etc) but also general clarity and organization. Research papers must be properly documented.

If you wish help with your writing at any stage, including drafts, you are invited to contact the Writing Centre, SS110, 220-7255.

Grading System

The following grading system is used in the Faculty of Communication and Culture:

A+ (96-100); A (92-95); A- (86-91); B+ (81-85); B (77-80); B- (71-76);
C+ (65-70); C (62-64); C- (59-61); D+ (55-58); D (50-54); F (0-49)

 

Plagiarism

Using any source whatsoever without clearly documenting it is a serious academic offense. For details see www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/info. Consequences include failure on the assignment, failure in the course and possibly suspension or expulsion from the university.

You must document not only direct quotations but also paraphrases and ideas where they appear in your text. A reference list at the end is insufficient by itself. Readers must be able to tell exactly where your words and ideas end and other people’s words and ideas begin. This includes assignments submitted in non-traditional formats such as Web pages or visual media, and material taken from such sources.

Please consult your instructor or the Writing Centre (SS110) if you have any questions regarding how to document sources.

Additional Information

Some of the activities for this course involve field trips off campus. You will be informed of the schedule of field trips at the beginning of the course. All activities take place during class hours, and are at locations available through public transit.

This course is being co-taught by two instructors. The instructors will teach all classes together, and will hold simultaneous office hours. However, if you have questions regarding the course, you can feel free to contact either instructor. Instructors will forward relevant inquiries to one another if a second opinion is required.

Students with Disabilities

If you are a student with a disability who may require academic accommodation, it is your responsibility to register with the Disability Resource Centre (220-8237) and discuss your needs with your instructor no later than fourteen (14) days after the start of the course.

Students' Union

For details about the current Students' Union contacts for the Faculty of Communication and Culture see www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/info

"SAFEWALK" Program -- 220-5333

Campus Security will escort individuals day or night -- call 220-5333 for assistance. Use any campus phone, emergency phone or the yellow phone located at most parking lot booths.

Schedule of Lectures and Readings

To be handed out in class.