Food Glorious Food: Food, Foodies, Farmers Market and Handmade Food Renaissance

ENG 21OO

Baruch College

Fall 2009

Professor: Mary Louise Penaz

Office: cubicle 72900 in the English Department

Office Hours:  Tuesday/Thursday 10:40-12:00 and by appointment.  (I will stay later on those days if you want to meet to discuss your work-in-progress essay. Please take advantage of this opportunity!)

E-Mail: Mary_Penaz@baruch.cuny.edu

Note: As a student in this class, this is where you will find the syllabus.  It is your responsibility to copy down the right URL and refer to this blog during class. 

 Required Texts for all Students: 4 books total

1. The Little, Brown Handbook (Custom Edition for Baruch sold in Bookstore exclusively)

 2. In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan

3. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, Linda Lear, and Edward O. Wilson (Paperback – Oct 22, 2002)

4. Food Fight: The Citizen’s Guide to a Food and Farm Bill by Daniel Imhoff and Michael Pollan  

5. Other resource material will be supplied by professor as a handout or linked to my blog: poems, short-stories, nonfiction essays, and other. 

6. A link to David Foster Wallace’s essay, Consider the Lobster.

You are expected to read all of the above before class.  

It is your responsibility to find all the above books before the deadline, which will be announced in class. 

New York has one of the most impressive networks of Green Markets from locally grown farms in the Country. Likewise, there is a handmade food Renaissance underway in Brooklyn, New York, which consists of mostly young small businessmen and women. Recently a National Best Restaurant list noted that the top twenty used locally grown farm raised food exclusively. Is this a trend or will it be the answer to growing concerns about food shortages? 

 

Food Glorious Food: Foodies, Farmers Market and Handmade Food Renaissance Blog is the official blog for this class.  Please check it regularly to refer to the syllabus, updates, assignments or other messages posted for this class.  Do not leave messages, post comments, or post essays on this site ever. If you need to contact me, use my email address and send me an email.  Thanks.

 

“This is an intensive course dealing with the organization and development of ideas in coherent, interesting, effective essays. It emphasizes the interpretation and evaluation of a variety of prose forms with the aim of extending a writer’s options for organizing and developing various kinds of subject matter. Students are required to write a research paper. The work of the course is conducted in classroom, small-group, and one-on-one sessions. No credit is granted toward an English major.”.)”

Prerequisite: passing the CUNY ACT.

 Learning Goals for the Baruch College English Department

 

 After completing ENG 2100 and 2150, students should be able to:

 ·     identify the key ideas and techniques used in a variety of articles, essays, and literary works, and subject these works to logical analysis;

·     undertake writing as a process requiring the outlining of ideas, multiple drafting, and revision of complete essays;

·     create an original and cogent thesis and develop an imaginative argument in unified and coherent paragraphs;

·     observe sentence boundaries, punctuate correctly, vary sentence structures, and employ the conventions of standard English grammar and usage;

·     engage with different genres of writing, including the short story, the novel, the essay, poetry, and drama, and comprehend and use appropriate vocabulary in interpreting the material by paying close attention to language and style;

·     identify, analyze, and synthesize multiple sources as support for written arguments;

·     gauge the value of different strategies for argumentation, including the use of counter-arguments;

·     produce researched essays that incorporate sources and that effectively evaluate multiple (and even conflicting) points of view;

·     avoid plagiarism and understand why it is unacceptable, at the same time learning how to appropriately document your research and ideas;

·     imagine the needs of one’s reader when writing in different rhetorical modes and social contexts and take audience and occasion into account when writing.

 and have fun learning how to think and write critically!

Come prepared: Bring a notebook and pen. Turn off your cell phone.  Join the class to add value by your preparedness. Raise your hand, participate, and show you care about the subject.  Be a leader.

Save Copies of everything: It is your responsibility to save hard and disc copies of all your essays and  assignments.  In the event that we cannot access the blogs, it is your responsibility to produce a hard copy (paper version) of the articles, postings and so forth. 

Attendance:

Because writing seminar instruction proceeds by sequential writing activities, your consistent attendance is essential. 

Students are allowed 3 total unexcused absences.  At 4 total of unexcused absences, you will receive a WU.  If you have a legitimate excuse, I will allow a total of 5 absences.  At 6 total, WU.

Note: Grounds for excused absence are documented cases of illnesses or family emergency, observance of religious holidays, and attendance at scheduled University sports competitions to matches and games; practice and preparation are not covered. As instructor, I decide the validity of an excuse. 

Late Paper Policy:

 All deadlines in this writing seminar are firm.  Except in the case of medical or family emergency, or religious observance, I give no individual extensions.  In part this is because you need to understand the importance of deadlines.  But just as importantly, the policy also respects the need for parity: all students should have about the same amount of time to work on a paper.

If an emergency occurs and you cannot meet a due date, please contact me as soon as you can so that we can set a new due date and re-work your schedule in the course.  In the event of a medical emergency, you must have a note from the doctor.  In the event of a family emergency, you must contact me by e-mail or telephone.

When there are no extenuating circumstances, the following policies will apply:

a. Essay will be reduced one full grade per day it is late. 

b. Instructor decides the last day that essay will be accepted.

Late pre-draft assignments or any other writing: These will not be graded or commented on.

Late drafts: These will receive no feedback. 

These policies have two concrete benefits for everyone in the class:

1). They should spur you to promptness, because a lack thereof will result in severe consequences—hence you will be less likely to fall behind in your work:

2). You can be counted on being treated the same as your classmates.  No one will receive preferential treatment, or be given extra time to work on a piece of writing.

Completion of Work:

Because writing seminars are organized as a planned sequence of writing, you must write all of the assigned essays to pass the course, and you must write them within the schedule due-dates of the course—not in the last few days of the semester once you have fallen behind.  As instructor, I decide when the time-limit is up.  You cannot get a grade in this class unless you have completed all assigned work.

Peer-Review: Peer-review attendance is very important, and therefore, lack of attendance weighs heavily against your final grade in this class.  Likewise, you must produce a rough draft for each peer-review. If you show up for class without one, you will be marked absent.

In this class it is our goal to create original papers, which should not be difficult since my assignments are unique and make creativity natural.  You should be aware that Baruch College takes cheating seriously.  So please read carefully the college policy on this subject.

A Definition of Plagiarism

Plagiarism means passing off the work of others as your own. The “work of others” means other people’s words and/or ideas. “Passing off…as your own” means including that work in your assignment without adequate citation. Therefore, a slightly longer definition would be “Plagiarism means including in your assignment other people’s words and/or ideas without citing them correctly.” Here are some hints about citation: When you include the actual words of others, be they from a printed source, from the web, or from a live presentation, they must appear within quotation marks and you must indicate from where and from whom the words came. Otherwise you are plagiarizing. When you include another person’s ideas, you must indicate where you found those ideas, even when you are paraphrasing them. Following someone else’s sequence of ideas, even if you paraphrase them, also is plagiarism. (An example would be paraphrasing a paragraph from someone else’s work, sentence by sentence, even if you include a citation of that author.) If you have any questions about these definitions, please discuss them with me. You can also refer to Baruch’s online plagiarism tutorial http://newman.baruch.cuny.edu/help/plagiarism/default.htm or to Ann Raimes, Keys for Writers pp. 116-128 (4th ed.), 104-112 (3rd ed.), or Fowler and Aaron, The Little, Brown Handbook, pp. 629-38, where you can also read about correct styles of citation.

Cheating and plagiarism are serious offenses.  The following definitions are based on the College’s Academic Honesty website:

Cheating is the attempted or unauthorized use of materials, information, notes, study aids, devices or communication during an academic exercise. Examples include but are not limited to:

·       Copying from another student during an examination or allowing another to copy your work

·       Unauthorized collaborating on a take home assignment or examination

·       Using unauthorized notes during a closed book examination

·       Using unauthorized electronic devices during an examination

·       Taking an examination for another student

·       Asking or allowing another student to take an examination for you

·       Changing a corrected exam and returning it for more credit

·       Submitting substantial portions of the same paper to two classes without consulting the second instructor

·       Preparing answers or writing notes in a blue book (exam booklet) before an examination

·       Allowing others to research and write assigned papers including the use of commercial term paper services

Plagiarism is the act of presenting another person’s ideas, research or writing as your own, such as:

·       Copying another person’s actual words without the use of quotation marks and footnotes (a functional limit is four or more words taken from the work of another)

·       Presenting another person’s ideas or theories in your own words without acknowledging them

·       Using information that is not considered common knowledge without acknowledging the source

·       Failure to acknowledge collaborators on homework and laboratory assignment

My policy is to give a failing grade  to any assignment that has been plagiarized or an exam in which you have cheated. In addition, I am required by College policy to submit a report of suspected academic dishonesty to the Office of the Dean of Students.  This report becomes part of your permanent file.  

Learning involves the pursuit of truth, which cannot be pursued by presenting someone else’s work as your own. By following the procedure outlined below, you will establish a basis of trust that will remain unless you provide reason to suspect it has been violated.

1.      Visit the college’s homepage and look under the Current Students menu for Academic Honesty (under College Policies).

2.      Go to that web page:  http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/academic/academic_honesty.html

3.      Read the material it contains.

4.      Sign handout in class stating truthfully stating that you have read the web page, understood it, and that you agree to act according to the principles it expresses.

(I will give you this contract to sign the first week of class. You must sign it in order to participate in my class and at exact deadline.)

 In-class behavior:

 Bring the text, notebook, and pens to every class. Turn-off cell phones. Make sure you read the material assigned and have done the proper assignments.  I will call on you in class, so be prepared to have something to say.  A significant part of your grade will be based on class participation, and how well you present yourself orally in class discussion and in draft workshops.  You will be expected to speak every class period.

Decorum and Disruptions:  Unnecessary disruptions, which include consistently arriving late to class, making unnecessary noise, chatting to nearby classmates, sleeping during class, or leaving the room for long periods of time is considered a disruption and inappropriate behavior for a college student in a college-level course. You will be marked absent.   

 Note: Semesters don’t always work exactly as planned. As the instructor, I may change any of the following  information or grading rubric without notice. Don’t worry, if this happens, it will be fair and reasonable, and in your best interest. I promise. J

 Course requirements:

Essay 1:                                     10%

Essay 2:                                     15%

Essay 3:                                     20%

Attendance: Promptness and preparedness     10%

Participation: Attentiveness,  curiosity,  discussion leadership, scholarly attitude, written assignments, in-class writing assignments, etc.   15%

Blog Posts (3 per Semester):    15%

In-class Final Exam: identification of passages, vocabulary defintions, true false, and one essay question–for example.  15%

*You will be expected to make a trip to the Farmer’s Market for a special assignment, so stay tuned.

*Peer-review classes are very important to your final, over-all grade.  If you show up for class without 2 copies of your essay, you will be marked absent: no exceptions.  Think ahead, allow for time for printing etc. Do not wait until the last minute. 

*Instructor will not make comments on essays handed-in late on peer-review day.

Schedule:

 http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/registrar/due_dates.htm

Mon. August 31   First Day of class M/W class 

Tues. Sept. 1        First Day of Class T/Th class

Wed. Sept. 2        Adam & Eve, The Garden Mythology, Poets

Thurs. Sept. 3      Adam & Eve, The Garden Mythology, Poets

Mon. Sept. 7        Labor Day: School Closed

Tues. Sept 8         Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, read p.x-37

Wed. Sept. 9       Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, read p.x-37

Thurs. Sept.10    Hand-in written assignment

Mon. Sept. 14    Hand-in written assignment; read Silent Spring, 37-104

Tues. Sept. 15    Read Silent Spring, 37-104 

 Wed. Sept. 16    What is a paragraph? Read pages 70-110 in The Little, Brown Handbook: Custom Edition for Baruch College

Thurs. Sept. 17   What is a paragraph? Read pages 70-110 in The Little, Brown Handbook: Custom Edition for Baruch College

Mon. Sept. 21      TBA/ Last Day to Drop without a W Grade

Tues. Sept. 22      TBA/Beginning of W grade

Wed. Sept. 23      Peer-review: bring one rough draft copy of essay #1 for group and one copy for instructor.

Thurs. Sept. 24    Peer-review: bring one rough draft copy of essay #1 for group and one copy for instructor.

Mon. Sept. 28      No Class

Tues. Sept. 29      Follows Monday scedule/Watch Movie: King Corn/ discussion / in-class assignment

Wed. Sept. 30       Watch Movie / discussion / in-class assignment

Thurs. Oct. 1         Watch Movie/ discussion / in-class assignment

Mon. Oct. 5      Lecture/ What are GMOs?/ Seed keepers

Tues. Oct. 6      Watch Movie/ discussion / in-class assignment

Wed. Oct. 7      Lecture/ Essay #1 Due /Introduction to David Foster Wallace / Homework instructions

Thurs. Oct. 8    Lecture/ Essay #1 Due/ Introduction to David Foster Wallace / Homework instructions

Mon. Oct. 12        Columbus Day, College Closed

Tues. Oct. 13        Read essay, “Consider a Lobster” by David Foster Wallace.  Bring copy of the essay marked-up for assignment using the instructions for assignment that we discussed and be prepared to participate in class discussion.

Wed. Oct. 14        Classes follows Monday schedule/ Read essay, “Consider a Lobster” by David Foster Wallace.  Bring copy of the essay marked-up using the instructions that we discussed and be prepared to participate in  class discussion.

Thurs. Oct. 15      Lecture

Mon. Oct. 19        Read: “Kosher Wars” / Be Prepared to discuss in class.

Tues. Oct. 20       Read: “Kosher Wars” / Be Prepared to discuss in class.

Wed. Oct. 21      “Kosher Wars” /&”Consider the Lobster” discussion

 Thurs. Oct. 22    ”Kosher Wars” & “Consider the Lobster” discussion

Mon. Oct. 26     Discussion: Logical Fallacies

  Tues. Oct. 27    Discussion: Logical Fallacies /

 Wed. Oct. 28     Discussion: Logical Fallacies / Peer-review Essay #2, bring two copies of essay.

Thurs. Oct. 29     What are GMOs? Seed Keepers? / Peer-review Essay #2, bring two copies of essay. Peer-review Essay #2, bring two copies of essay. 

Mon Nov. 2     What is a thesis? discussion 

Tues. Nov. 3    What is a thesis? discussion   

Wed. Nov. 4     Read,  In Defense of Food by Pollan, Intro.-81

Thurs. Nov. 5   Read, In Defense of Food by Pollan, Intro. -81

Mon. Nov. 9    

Tues. Nov. 10  

Wed. Nov. 11   In Defense of Food & Foodfight discussion

Thurs. Nov. 12  In Defense of Food & Foodfight discussion / Last day to withdraw with ‘W’ grade

Mon. Nov. 16     

Tues. Nov. 17    

 Wed. Nov. 18     Essay #2 Due; read p. 85-201, In Defense of Food 

Thurs. Nov. 19    Essay #2 Due; read p. 85-201, In Defense of Food

Mon. Nov. 23     Read, Food Fight by Imhoff, read entire book.

 Tues. Nov. 24    Read, Food Fight by Imhoff, read entire book.

Wed. Nov. 25     TBA

Thurs. Nov. 26-29 Thanksgiving Recess; College Closed

Friday Nov. 27   Blog Post #2 Due; post no later than midnight, 11/27 for both sections of 2100.

Mon. Nov. 31  TBA

Tues. Dec. 1       TBA 

Wed. Dec. 2        TBA

Thurs. Dec. 3       TBA

Mon. Dec. 7         TBA

Tues. Dec. 8        TBA

Wed. Dec. 9        Last Day of Class for M/W; Essay #3 Due; In-class Final Exam.

Thurs. Dec. 10     Last Day of Class for T/Th: Essay #3 Due; In-class Final Exam.