Students

ANTH2003 – Food Across Cultures

2024 – Session 1, Online-flexible

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor, Lecturer, Tutor
Eve Vincent
Contact via Email
25WW B220
By appointment
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
(ANTH150 or ANTH1050) or (40cp at 1000 level or above
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

We all eat. But what, when, how, how much and with whom we eat is bound up with questions of cultural difference, gender and power. The study of food, eating and hunger has long held a particular fascination for anthropologists--from subsistence strategies to nutritional intake, from food taboos to the social rules that structure how people eat together. This unit introduces the idea that the everyday activities of cooking and eating are packed with economic, medical, political, and cultural meanings. We will focus on some classic anthropological work on eating as a social practice. Then we move to the concerns of contemporary anthropology, examining issues such as the global industrial food system, and the link between migration, ethnic identity and food. Throughout this unit we are concerned with everyday eating practices, exploring the extraordinary variety of food likes and dislikes in a range of ethnographic contexts.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Analyse how the everyday activities of food classification, cooking and eating are packed with cultural meanings.
  • ULO2: Identify connections between food, globalisation, consumption practices and class, identity and migration.
  • ULO3: Analyse the relationship between food, gender and power.
  • ULO4: Apply anthropological theory to the study of food-related practices in contemporary Australia.
  • ULO5: Demonstrate a command of anthropological knowledge and theories as applied to the study of food and culture.

General Assessment Information

 

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of ‘0’ (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all non-timed written assessments (incl essays, reports, posters, portfolios, journals, recordings etc) is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue. Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams/quizzes, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs etc) will only be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special Consideration application. Special Consideration outcome may result in a new question or topic.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Weekly Quizzes 25% No Weekly, starting Week 1
Participation in Tutorial Discussions or Weekly forums 15% No Weekly, starting Week 2
Observational Task 25% No Sunday May 5, 11:55pm
Take home exam 35% No Sunday June 2, 11:55pm

Weekly Quizzes

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 22 hours
Due: Weekly, starting Week 1
Weighting: 25%

 

Online Weekly Quizzes

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Analyse how the everyday activities of food classification, cooking and eating are packed with cultural meanings.
  • Identify connections between food, globalisation, consumption practices and class, identity and migration.
  • Analyse the relationship between food, gender and power.

Participation in Tutorial Discussions or Weekly forums

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 12 hours
Due: Weekly, starting Week 2
Weighting: 15%

 

Active participation in either weekly tutorials or Weekly Forums

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Analyse how the everyday activities of food classification, cooking and eating are packed with cultural meanings.
  • Identify connections between food, globalisation, consumption practices and class, identity and migration.
  • Analyse the relationship between food, gender and power.
  • Demonstrate a command of anthropological knowledge and theories as applied to the study of food and culture.

Observational Task

Assessment Type 1: Reflective Writing
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: Sunday May 5, 11:55pm
Weighting: 25%

 

This short reflective assessment tasks requires you to observe and describe something to do with food and culture in contemporary Australia.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply anthropological theory to the study of food-related practices in contemporary Australia.

Take home exam

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 35 hours
Due: Sunday June 2, 11:55pm
Weighting: 35%

 

Take home exam covering unit content

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Analyse how the everyday activities of food classification, cooking and eating are packed with cultural meanings.
  • Identify connections between food, globalisation, consumption practices and class, identity and migration.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Unit readings are available via Leganto and iLearn.

Unit Schedule

WEEK TOPIC
1 Commensality
2 Taste and taboo
3 Cannibals?
4 Gender
5 Cooking and kitchens
6 Entanglements
7 Fast food
8 Slow food
9 The climate crisis and the future of food
10 Class and taste
11 Hunger
12 Eating the continent
13 Revision

 

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Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

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Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit connect.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

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Got a question? Ask us via the Service Connect Portal, or contact Service Connect.

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Unit information based on version 2024.02 of the Handbook