Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Brigit Busicchia
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
39cp at 100 level or above
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
In the twenty first century there is a newly emerging intensity to discussions around food and eating. From the rise of consumer and farmer movements organising around critiques of the industrialised systems of food production on the future ecological sustainability to the growing focus on food and cuisine in the media and other culture industries, the question of how and what we eat has become a key topic for public debate around new understandings of the self, the nation, the environment and the planet. In this course we will examine the sociological and political dimensions of food from both consumption and production perspectives. Topics will include: the benefits and perils of the modern food system and culinary modernism; food security and food scarcity; food in moral economies; the fast food industry and its critics; ethical eating practices; food and cultural heritage; food and migration; and food in the media and popular culture.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Turnitin: All assignments must be submitted through Turnitin by the due date. Failure to put your assignment through Turnitin will result in NO mark being awarded for that piece of work.
It is a requirement also that all students keep a copy of their own work .
Late Submission Penalty
Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests.
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
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Attendance and Participation | 20% | No | Ongoing |
Short Writing Exercise | 10% | No | 27/03/2019 (Week 5) |
Research Paper | 40% | No | 08/05/2019 (Week 9) |
Take Home Final Exam | 30% | No | 05/06/2019 (Week 13) |
Due: Ongoing
Weighting: 20%
All internal students are expected to participate at both lectures and tutorials. Internal students are also expected to come prepared for discussion in tutorials by reading the required readings before hand.
SOC302 is structured around weekly key topics. Every lecture provides you with discussions and materials designed to help you think and reflect about the topic through a sociological lens.
Based on the lecture material and the readings, the tutorial is the space where you learn to broaden and fine-tune your analytical skills. Each week, you must:
By experience, we find that written preparation facilitates verbal contributions to class discussions. I will be looking for remarks and questions that engage thoughtfully with the readings and with the issues raised by them in relation to course themes.
Contributions from external students made on the discussion boards will be graded on both regularity, but more importantly quality. Questions for discussion based on the readings will be posted up onto the discussion boards each week. You are expected to have read the required readings and to respond to them. Participation for external students will be evaluated based on the following:
Due: 27/03/2019 (Week 5)
Weighting: 10%
Madeleines: We are What We Ate *
Food is more than an amalgam of biochemical nutrients. What we eat has enormous significance as a medium for personal recollection and collective identity. In this exercise, you are asked to reflect on a food that is especially laden with emotional, autobiographical and symbolic importance to you – your equivalent of the tiny cake (Madeleine) that sparked French novelist Marcel Proust’s seven-volume classic, Remembrance of Things Past (1913-1926).
Read the except from Proust (posted on the iLearn site) then think hard about your own personal Madeleine. It may be anything – from a full meal to a packaged snack – as long as it is edible. Try to taste it before writing. In 500-750 words (maximum), describe your Madeleine and the images, associations and memories it conjures up. These images do not have to be positive, by the way. Describe, also, how you encountered this memory – for example, by chance or by will. You can also try classifying your Madeleine:
For further examples of the creative use of food memories:
Abu-Jaber, Diana (2005). The Language of Baklava. NewYork: Anchor Books
Avakian, Arlene Voski (ed). (1997). Through the Kitchen Window. Women Writers Explore the Intimate Meanings of Food and Cooking. Boston: Beacon Press
Sutton, David. (2001). Remembrance of Repasts: An Anthropology of Food and Memory. Oxford: Berg.
*(This exercise has been adapted from Warren Belasco’s 2008. Food: Key Concepts. Berg. p. 26. It is used here as a kind of ‘icebreaker’ for discussion and as a window onto some themes in the course)
Due: 08/05/2019 (Week 9)
Weighting: 40%
A list of essay questions will be distributed prior to the mid-semester break. The objective of this research paper (2000 words) is that you engage in depth with one of the questions. Alternatively, you may develop your own topic subject to your tutor’s approval. Just as your paper will engage with the course readings, we also expect your research to extend to further reading and scholarship outside from the course material. However, bear in mind that you must apply a sociological perspective when discussing your research.
As a general rule, this assignment will be assessed on the demonstration of knowledge (understanding the key ideas/concepts and their interrelationships), how well it is applied to the discussion (in other words, the ability to explain and engage with sociological analysis to critically reflect on the chosen topic), and how well the discussion is presented (clear writing expression).
Due: 05/06/2019 (Week 13)
Weighting: 30%
This exam is designed to test your understanding of the key concepts presented in the readings of SOC302. You will not be required to do any further research to answer the questions. You will be required to draw specifically from the course readings to scaffold your answers. More information about the format and requirements of the exam will be provided in the weeks leading to Week 13.
Lecture will be held on Fridays 11am-1pm. The classroom is: 12SW 310 (formerly C5A).
All lectures (not films) will be recorded on echo360 and made available on the iLearn site to assist with review of course material. This should not be considered a substitute for lecture attendance. Lecture slides will also be available on the iLearn site for review.
See timetable for tutorial times.
Internal Students: This course entails both lectures and tutorials. It is expected that you attend BOTH and we will keep a record of attendance in both lectures and tutorials. We will be inviting a number of guest lecturers into this course and therefore it is especially important that you all attend lectures regularly. The course has been set up and especially designed to allow you to have plenty of opportunities to ask questions in class and to have a really good dialogue with the lecturers and other class participants. It's a fun class!
Teaching staff do of course understand that under extenuating circumstances students may not be able to attend a lecture. In such cases special consideration may be pursued and staff will also undertake to accommodate a student’s circumstances.
Films screened in class are an important part of this course and their content may be assessed in the final take home exam
External Students must respond each week to set questions in the external forum on the SOC 302 ilearn site. These responses will be graded on quality as well as regularity. The forums will be open for one week only . External students therefore must make their contributions to the discussion questions and the set readings each week.
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Undergraduate students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/student-conduct
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 ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
Late Submission Penalty
“Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests.”
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
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This graduate capability is supported by:
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As local citizens our graduates will be aware of indigenous perspectives and of the nation's historical context. They will be engaged with the challenges of contemporary society and with knowledge and ideas. We want our graduates to have respect for diversity, to be open-minded, sensitive to others and inclusive, and to be open to other cultures and perspectives: they should have a level of cultural literacy. Our graduates should be aware of disadvantage and social justice, and be willing to participate to help create a wiser and better society.
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Date | Description |
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07/03/2019 | Minor changes to reflect recent review from L&T. |