Intro to Unit

As part of our inquiry into the question about what makes us who we are, we will begin with food. Why food?! And why food as the first unit? We can, of course, start with the saying: You are what you eat. But food is more than that. What we eat says a lot about what we value, about our culture, and our personality. Religions and cultures, as well as communities, each have rituals associated with food. The word companion means to break bread with; thus when we eat with people, we get to know them and symbolically welcome them into our homes, our lives. Let's face it: Food is also just fun! You go out with friends for pizza, ice cream, coffee, or more fancy meals for special events like prom or graduation. Food also gives us a chance to start working on reading and writing more critically, however. So we will read essays, stories, poems, as well as infographics, art, and more multimedia (videos, podcasts, and such) as part of our examination of food and what it tells us about ourselves, our values, and our society. This will involve, at some point, people cooking and eating, but also writing about that process. Get ready for some delicious learning. Questions we will consider include:

• What does what we eat (and drink) say about our values?
• What is the relationship between what we eat and our culture?
• What do we eat--how, and why? 

Artist: Wayne Thibeau

Possible Performances

1. Descriptive Essay: A Favorite or Memorable Food or Meal

2. Introductory Paragraph Strategies

3. Two Sample Paragraphs (Using Different Strategies)

4. Sample Descriptive Food Essay (with Images!) by Mr. Burke 

First three painted by Giuseppe Arcimboldo; far right photograph by Matthew Klein.

Readings and Viewings

Norton Sampler Readings

1. "No Wonder They Call Me a Bitch," by Ann Hodgman

2. "Frank Sinatra's Gum," by Kelly Simon

3. "All Seven Deadly Sins Committed at Church Bake Sale," The Onion

4. "How to Make Razzleberry Lemonade"

5. "If You Are What You Eat, Then What Am I?" by Geeta Kothari 

6. "Prison Man Considers Turkey," John Edwards

7. "Climbing the Golden Arches," Marissa Nunez

8. "The Island of Plenty," Johnson C. Montgomery

9. "A Modest Proposal," Johnathan Swift 

Online Essays/Other Writings

1. Essay: "We Are What We Eat," by Michael Pollan
2. Introduction: "We Are What We Eat: Ethnic Food and the Making of Americans," by Donna R. Gabaccia
3. Review: "The World's Best Hamburger Is in Egypt," by Scott Macleod
4. Article: "The School Cafeteria--On a Diet," Andrew Martin 
5. Poems: "Food Poems Good Enough to Eat for National Poetry Month" 
6. Essay: "The Orange, the Fig, the Whisper of Grapes," Naomi Shihab Nye

Video/Mixed Media

1. Man Vs. Food
2. Fast Food Nation
3. Food Inc. 
4. Supersize Me 
5. TED Talk: "Teach Every Child About Food," Jamie Oliver
6. The Botany of Desire 

Infographics

1. The Food Pyramid

2. Caffeine and Calories

3. The Caffeine Poster 

Audio

1. This American Life: "You Gonna Eat That?"

2. The Kitchen Sisters: "Hidden Kitchens" Shows

3. "Eating Fire," by Peggy Hansen (KQED Perspective) 

Photographs/Images

1. "What the World Eats" (Photo Essay) 
2. "Breaking Ramadan's Fast: How Muslims Around the World Observe Iftar" (Photo Essay) 
3. "The Kitsch of Thanksgiving" (Photo Essay) 
4. "What Makes You Eat More Food" (Photo Essay)
5. Peter Menzel Photography: Slideshow (Click on "Food) 

Blogs

1. Anthony Bourdain is an American author and chef. He is well known for his 2000 book Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, and is the host of Travel Channel's culinary and cultural adventure program Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.
2. Alex Kapranos is an English musician who is the lead singer and the guitarist of the Glasgow band Franz Ferdinand and author of the book Sound Bites, about his food experiences while on tour around the world.
3. Jamie Schler is an American living and eating in Europe, former Art Gallery Manager, Culinary Guide & Interpreter, food magazine Assistant Editor and Milliner among other odd jobs, now a full time food blogger and writer, author of Life’s a Feast.
4. Jonathan Gold is a food critic who currently writes for LA Weekly and used to write for Gourmet magazine. In 2007 he became the first such critic to win the Pulitzer Prize. He is also a regular on KCRW's Good Food radio program. Gold often chooses small, ethnic restaurants for his reviews, although he covers all types of cuisine.
5. The Poetry of Food is an online magazine for which many different bloggers write, each one describing their experiences in the "Food Stories from Around the World" blogs. 
6. The American Barbecue Pilgrimage:  In 2005, David Plotz traveled to Kansas City, Memphis, Arkansas, and Texas in pursuit of America's best barbecue. "Barbecue is one of the last bastions of local prejudice in American life: Every state in the South—and some in the Midwest—thinks its barbecue is the first, most authentic, and best in the nation," he writes in his introduction. "If you want to see hatred, just put a Texan and a North Carolinian in a room and ask them who makes more righteous barbecue." His series is reprinted here.