Final Reflections Submission Link
Independent Study Projects Submission Link
Grading Structure and Grading Policy
| Graded Assignments | Point Breakdown |
| Study Units (5 units x 12 points each) | 60 |
| Gastronomic Exploration (class presentation) | 15 |
| Final Reflection | 15 |
| Participation (based on meeting expectations of punctuality, attendance, and engagement) | 10 |
| Total Points | 100 |
The Five Study Units
1. Industrial Agriculture and Global Hunger
2. Regenerative Agriculture and the Challenge of Climate Change
3. Italian Food Culture and History
4. The Mediteranean Diet, Artisanal Food, and the Local Food Revival
5. Urban Food Systems: The Role of the Market and Urban Agriculture and Food Sovereignty
What Makes a Good Post?
The content of the discussion posts can take different forms. Here are a few suggestions to prompt your approach. I will also provide a prompt for each to help you get started:
- Identify a critical term or a particular theoretical framing that the author is using. Does it help you view something in a new and mind-altering way?
- Identify an "aha!" moment that particularly struck you in what you are learning from the reading.
- Make a connection between the reading assignments and the films assigned for this course. How does the visual material complement or complicate your understanding of the written material.
- Identify a passage that you are wanting to understand more clearly. What is not clear to you and what might help you to comprehend what the author is saying.
Please note that to receive full credit for your post, you need to identify a quote in the reading by page number to respond to the prompt. Merely responding to the video viewing material will not be sufficient.
Expectations:
Students will do the reading and not rely on an AI generated synopsis. I don't want to have to read the same AI-generated paragraph 17 times! :) You want to demonstrate active thinking in your post. Making connections among the readings and the visual material is one of the best ways to convince me you have done the work of reading, thinking, and processing.
Each post should be substantial (approx 600 words) in units where there are two discussion boards. In units with only one discussion board, the writing should be more extended (1000-1200 words).
If your post does not meet expectations, i.e., if I feel that it does not demonstrate an adequate level of effort, I will give you feedback on how to revise it. As you move through the learning units, you should gain a better sense of what you need to do to complete the assignment on the first try.
Gastronomic Exploration:
Step 1:
Identify an aspect of Italian food culture that you would like to explore in depth. The earlier you pick a topic, the more time you will have to collect information.
Step 2:
Start your research. Ask Ann and Dafne as well as our local teaching partners for some possible starting points. See what resources are available online to dig deeper. There are also books in the UWRC library that may have information on your topic.
Step 4:
Locate sites in Santa Severa or Rome where you can go to observe and learn more. Utilize our class visits to ask questions and collect information. Hands-on experimentation is encouraged if your topic lends itself to this activity. Alternatively, organize a guided tasting. How is a particular item judged in terms of taste and quality?
Step 3:
Prepare a 15-minute presentation on your topic. Most students choose to produce a powerpoint, but alternate modes of presentation are also welcome. When in doubt, check with Ann to make sure you are on the right track.
Final Reflection:
This will take the form of a written essay (5-8 pages, double-spaced, 12 point font). The final reflection is chance for you to review what you have learned in the program and what you feel are your most important takeaways. The content of this program is far from being purely academic, so feel free to reflect on how your understanding of your food system has changed and how this might affect you going forward. Submit your paper here.