Writing About Food: Eating Up American Culture
Summer 2013 (May 21–July 23, 2013)
Professor Sherrie Flick
Dilworth 6
Tuesday 1:00–4:00pm FST 515
sflick@chatham.edu
sdflick@gmail.com
412-759-7594 (cell)
Office hours by appointment. Available via email, especially weekday mornings.
Eating Up American Culture: Food Writing
Food writing is everywhere, and thus is often the vehicle by which we see our culture
(both actively and passively, consciously and subconsciously). This writing, big and
small, requires writers (and readers) to understand the material world in a unique way.
This course focuses on developing specific techniques and skills for nonfiction writing
about food, agriculture, and culture by analyzing texts in history, journalism, cookbooks,
ethics (environmentalism and sustainability), memoir, reviews, blogs, menus, and
billboards. Students will produce work with an emphasis on both print and online venues.
Class visitors will shed light on and serve as primary resources to various aspects of Food
Writing.
TEXTS
Jonathan Safran Foer, Eating Animals (2010)
Gabrielle Hamilton, Blood, Bones, and Butter (2011)
Holly Hughes, Best Food Writing 2012 (2012)
Molly O’Neill, American Food Writing (2007)
Articles, movies, and blog posts, as assigned
Also needed:
Notebook
Camera
This course assists students in achieving these larger program goals for Food
Studies and English:

Interdisciplinary breadth: Students will articulate and integrate knowledge and
skills across and within a variety of disciplines, particularly as these skills relate
to the historical and contemporary organization of food provision and
consumption.
2- S. Flick – Food Writing

Communicative competence: Students will use history, ethics, culture, and
empirical data to document and evaluate food systems through oral, written, and
multi-modal means of representation.

Methodological depth: Students will articulate research questions, assess the
strengths and weaknesses of different research design and collection methods.
Includes the ability to address cultural and ethical issues, evaluate existing studies
and results, and conceptualize field-based solutions

Literary Analysis: Students will hone their skills of critical analysis and close
reading by studying challenging literary texts through the lens of various schools
of literary theory.

Scholarly Writing: Students will develop the ability to write cogent and
persuasive essays and presentations for which they design their own theoretically
informed theses and arguments.

Oral Communication: Students will develop the ability to articulate views in
class, and enhance such skills though formal presentations.
This course assists students in achieving the following specific objectives:
 Students will be able to recognize and analyze significant texts, genres, and styles
in food writing, responding to professional models.
 Students will develop competence in peer review and process-based writing,
editing, and revising.
 Students will engage in research related to writing goals.
 Students will be able to articulate an evaluation of effective writing for a variety of
publishable venues.
 Students will produce and present publishable pieces.
Course Requirements:
 Reading, attendance, class participation, and online postings. (For those of you
who have not had me in class previously: I take course participation very
seriously, and thus attendance VERY seriously. If you are a person who tends to
miss class, this is not the class for you. If you miss two classes, you will not pass
my class.)
 Class presentations of work-in-progress (~5-7 minutes, i.e., equivalent of 3-5 pp
typed and double-spaced)
 One Portfolio of Food Writing essays and analysis drawn from Weekly Writing
Activities and in-class exercises (10 -15 pages) with citations.
 Weekly Writing Activity essays (word length varies—see schedule).
 Weekly writing in-class exercises.
 Peer feedback, review, and editing work for two classmates.
 One-hour conference with professor, as scheduled.
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Grade Distribution:
 Participation, attendance, peer feedback
 Portfolios
 Conferences
 Writing Activities
10%
60%
10%
20%
Course Policies
-Attendance is required in this class; please communicate with me ahead of time about
absences.
o
Every student enrolled at Chatham accepts the responsibility to attend all
required class meetings. To obtain the fullest benefit from their courses,
students must participate fully. This implies attending regularly, engaging in
course activity, completing work on time, and making up work missed
because of an emergency absence. It is the student’s responsibility to let
the course instructor know within the drop-add period if he or she will
have to miss class for religious reasons, athletics, or other.
-Deductions will be taken for unexcused late papers, unexcused absences, and missed
peer feedback.
-In order to pass this course, you must complete all graded assignments. Assignments
should be turned in on time.
-Please note, I expect everyone to act civilly and courteously in classroom discussions
and to be supportive of fellow students during peer feedback and classroom oral
presentations. Learn from others’ viewpoints. It is the professional thing to do.
 TURN your personal machines OFF during class. No texting, no phone calling, no
emailing. Please wait until break. I’m serious.
-Syllabus is subject to change.
CREDIT HOUR REQUIREMENTS
Both the federal government and the state of Pennsylvania have defined the clock hours
required for each credit hour offered in a standard lecture course. All Chatham courses
must demonstrate that they meet these requirements.
 According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, a semester credit hour
represents a unit of curricular material that normally can be taught in a minimum of
14 hours of classroom instruction, plus appropriate outside preparation (PDE Code,
§ 31.21). Therefore, a 3-credit course should meet for a minimum of 42 hours.
 According to the federal government, a credit hour is an amount of work represented
in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that is
an institutionally established equivalency that reasonably approximates not less
than one hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two
4- S. Flick – Food Writing
hours of out of class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for
one semester or trimester hour of credit, or ten to twelve weeks for one quarter hour of
credit, or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time (HEA 34 CFR
600.2).
All courses, including those offered fully online, in a blended format, and in a seven-week
session, must meet for a minimum of 14 hours per credit, plus the final examination period.
If your class is not scheduled to physically meet for the appropriate number of hours, you
must include a set of Equivalent Instructional Activities (EIAs) on the syllabus showing
how the contact hours will be met. For more information on EIAs, go to
http://moodle.chatham.edu/course/view.php?id=2866 and click Yes to auto-enroll into the
site.
In addition, the work assigned to students in a course should meet the federal guideline of a
minimum of two hours of out of class student work each week for each credit hour assigned
to the course. For example, students in a 3-credit course should be assigned at least six
hours of out-of-class work each week. This can include readings, assignments, group work,
and any other preparation required for the course.
University Policies
Chatham University Honor Code:
Chatham University students pledge to maintain the Honor Code, which states in part: “Honor
is that principle by which we at Chatham form our code of living, working, and studying
together. The standards of honor at Chatham require that all students act with intellectual
independence, personal integrity, honesty in all relationships, and consideration for the rights
and well being of others.”
Information about the Honor Code is available in the Student Handbook.
Cheating and Plagiarism:
Cheating is defined as the attempt, successful or not, to give or obtain aid and/or
information by illicit means in meeting any academic requirements, including
examinations. Plagiarism is defined as the use, without proper acknowledgement, of the
ideas, phrases, sentences, or larger units of discourse from another writer or speaker.
Disability Statement:
Chatham College is committed to providing an environment that ensures that no
individual is discriminated against on the basis of her/his disability. Students with
disabilities, as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and
who need special academic accommodations, should notify the assistant dean of the
PACE Center as soon as possible. The PACE Center will work with students and the
course instructor to coordinate and monitor the provision of reasonable academic
accommodations.
Non-Registered Students Policy:
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In accordance with College policy, only officially registered students may attend this
class and all other classes offered at the College after the drop/add period. Please confer
with your academic advisor if you need assistance with the registration process or you
need additional information.
Minimum Grade Requirements:
Graduate students must earn a grade of B- or above in all courses. Undergraduates must
earn a grade of C- or above in all courses completed after spring 2011 used to fulfill major
or minor requirements. Please refer to the University catalog or individual program
manuals for additional information.