First-Year Writing Seminar (101-8-23)

Topic

Food and Its Literatures

Instructors

Alexandra Danielle Ibarra

Meeting Info

Shepard Hall B08/B09: Mon, Wed 3:30PM - 4:50PM

Overview of class

Topic: Food and Its Literatures

Our daily life is embroiled in food writing: from The New York Times restaurant reviews and Mary Berry's cookbooks to TikTok recipes and viral food memoirs such as Michelle Zauner's Crying in H Mart. In this course, we will think with our stomachs as we explore food-writing genres such as recipes, short stories, memoirs, reviews, political pamphlets, and academic essays to learn how to evaluate and emulate effective prose across styles and disciplines.

This course will feature texts by Michael W. Twitty, Anthony Bourdain, Michael Pollan, Ruth Ozeki, and bell hooks, among others. We will also analyze and respond to non-textual food media such as food documentaries, Studio Ghibli films, and cooking TikToks.

As we read, write, and eat, we'll consider such questions as: What is the relationship between the food and the writing that we consume? How have food texts and concepts such as celebrity chefs, cultural appropriation, and copyright transformed in the era of social media? How do historical and contemporary food struggles for sustainability and food sovereignty translate onto the written page?

Course assignments will develop flexible writing skills such as voice, argumentation, and research through adaptable assignments including the restaurant review, recipe narrative, and creative research project. This course is designed to use the many modes of food writing as a foundation for critical reading, writing, and research skills that will help you to thrive as a reader, writer, and consumer!

Class Attributes

WCAS Writing Seminar