Thursday, January 27, 2011

IMPORTANT: BLOG ASSIGNMENT AND WEEKEND WORK...READ CAREFULLY!

Hi guys,

Below are instructions for what's due on the blog (to take place of meeting on campus tomorrow), and what's due Monday.  Make sure to read this carefully, and take note of which instructions are for your particular class time...

Blog assignment (due at 9 AM for 8 AM section, and by 11 AM for 10 AM students):

Read the excerpt from Funeral Customs: Their Origin and Development, that begins on page 21 in the course reader; it's about a couple of crazy food phenomena--that of the sin-eater and that of corpse-eating.  There's a little black square on the left hand side of the first page; that's where you should start reading (it was a Post-It Note that said 'Start', but it didn't copy so well).

Respond to the excerpt in a reply to this post by the times indicated above.  Your response needs to be in your best formal writing style, and should display some sort of critical or analytical thinking.  One to two paragraphs should suffice.  If you are confused by the reading, say so on the blog, and allow your learning community to help you!

Weekend homework (due Monday):


Find two sources (any kind) for your research essay.  Don't use Wikipedia except as a very preliminary starting point; it's not credible, as there's no editorial authority on the site--anyone can publish anything.  Put the two sources in an MLA Works Cited List (use easybib.com ), print it, and bring it to class on Monday.

Also, please read the following two pieces in your course reader (refer to table of contents for page numbers): "Mauritania's 'wife-fattening' farm" from BBC News, and the excerpt from A Cook's Tour, by Anthony Bourdain.  We'll talk about these in class on Monday (they're both a quick read, and one is quite short).

Last, read the handout titled Research Tips, Guidelines, and Resources on pages 7-8 in the course reader, then read Tips for Evaluating Sources on page 9 in the reader.

E-mail me with questions!

Cheers,
CM

P.S. This seems like a lot of work, but it won't take an inordinately long time...

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Louie's "Popular Dining"

Grade scale

Standard Grade Scale
with Percentage, Grade-point, and Letter-Grade Equivalencies
 

Percentage Earned Grade-Point EquivalentLetter-Grade Equivalent
100-984.0A+
97-963.9A
95-943.8A
93-923.7A-
913.6A-
90-893.5B+
88-873.4B / B+
863.3B
853.2B
843.1B
833.0B / B-
822.9B-
812.8B-
802.7C / C+
792.6C
782.5C
772.4C
762.3C
752.2
742.1C-
732.0C-
721.9C- / D+
711.8et cetera
701.7
691.6
681.5
671.4
651.2
641.1
631.0
620.9
610.8
600.7
59 and x < 590.0

Friday, January 21, 2011

WEEKEND WORK-A-THON










1) Go to the OWL at Purdue and look at the Sample MLA Works Cited List: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/12/
2) Then, using easybib.com,  and a bit of very easy web research, PATIENTLY work your way though creating a Works Cited List of your own with the following four sources: Chocolat,  “The Wages of Sin”, “The Cabmen’s Cafes”, and “Marco Zapata’s Last Supper” (this will be getting you ahead for Essay 2, and this part of the process takes practice; the website isn’t perfect, but it is self-explanatory--it tells you all the info you need to plug in).
3) Read the Summary Handout (page 4 in course reader) then, write a 1-4 sentence summary for the same four sources as above.
4) Read What is a Primary Source? (page 5 in course reader), then read an example of a primary source—the excerpt from Anthony Bourdain’s A Cook’s Travels (pp. 53-57 in course reader). We'll talk about this piece in class on Monday.
ALL WORK MUST BE REMITTED IN HARD COPY, 

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Monday, January 17, 2011

Lynn Pham's prose


"What is that?" I screamed. I've never tried pie before. Blueberry, pumpkin, cheese pie, I really don't know any of them. Giving pie a chance never came in as a thought to me. People tell me it's like eating a cake, but with a crust. The only memory I have is seeing pie in cartoons. The little cat would do anything to get a slice, after many failed attempts.
    My mom brought pie home one day, apple pie. Each member in my family received a slice; even me. While everyone else enjoyed their individual slices, I left my share sitting on the dinner table. The sight of it got me shivering. The contents of the pie gave me a thought I wouldn't enjoy. My mind contained a thought of removing the filling, for it to look like cake. That really threw me off.
    My siblings glanced up at me, looking at my untouched slice. I didn't know what to do with my apple pie. Throw it away maybe? My parents would yell at me. I shoved my plate towards my parents. Their eyes didn't look too pleasant. I shivered more in fear, acknowledging the fact that something bad would happen soon.
    What to do, what to do? The dinner table sat in silence. Everyone just quietly gave me eye contact. My only option, force that thing in my mouth and hope for the best. "I don't want to eat that." I told my parents, finding the courage to speak. Right then, I noticed my choice wasn't very wise.
     "Do you need help?" my parents offered. I thought back to the times my parents helped me drink my medications; especially the pills.. Not much of a pleasant sight. Eventually after a few times of forcing myself, I was capable of swallowing a pill, just well as drinking water.
    I never remembered a time where I accepted their offer. Today is not going to be my first. "No, I hate it." I replied. I know I’m done with now; I've drawn the last straw. I watched my parents both stood up and headed over to me.