Paper #4: Eating from a Distance (Final Exam)

In the last chapter of A Cook’s Tour, “Perfect,” Tony Bourdain writes,

“The whole concept of the ‘perfect meal’ is ludicrous. ‘Perfect,’ like ‘happy,’ tends to sneak up on you. Once you find it—like Thomas Keller says—it’s gone. It’s a fleeting thing, ‘perfect,’ and if you’re anything like me, it’s often better in retrospect. When you’re shivering under four blankets in a Moroccan hotel room, the perfect meal can be something no more exotic than [the] breakfast…you had four months ago. Your last Papaya King hot dog takes on golden, even mythic proportions when remembered from a distance” (272). 

So for your final paper assignment, I want you to describe the best meal you’ve ever had. Now “best” could mean the same as “perfect”: it might not be the absolute best, but for some reason, it was the best for you. Explain where you were, who you were with, what you ate, and what made this food, or this experience, your favorite meal. Could you replicate this meal today if you ate the same food? Or was it frozen in a specific moment in time that can never be truly relived even with the same food, people, and surroundings? 

QUOTE a passage from A Cook’s Tour to help explain what made this meal so wonderful to you, and how it helped you look at food, friends, family, or something much larger. How did you have your own “Tony Bourdain” experience somewhere out in the world with food? 

MUST be at least 3 pages double spaced, but can be longer

CITE and INTRODUCE according to MLA format

DUE no later than Friday, December 11th by 5pm (no later papers accepted—that’s the absolute last day I can accept it, so be careful! You can turn it in earlier, of course!) 

Last Questions! Read "Fire Over England" and "West Coast" in A Cook's Tour

These are the last questions I'll give you for the class! So after this, you'll only have Paper #3 and the Final left to finish. Amazing how quickly it went! We'll discuss these last chapters on Tuesday/Thursday, and I'll give you an idea about what to expect on the Final as well (not a traditional final where you come to class, of course).

Answer 2 of the following:

Q1: Both of these chapters concern the "Evil Axis" of the food world as Tony sees it--the people who are actively trying to ruin the traditions and passion of food. Who are they, according to him? Why do they threaten the future of cooks both in England and America?

Q2: In "Fire over England," he showcases the chefs who continue to make "simple, unassuming, unpretentious--and absolutely and unapologetically English" dishes. Why is he so impressed with these chefs? And what, in his mind, makes them 'saviors' of their country's traditions? 

Q3: In the "West Coast" chapter, Tony berates those who look down on meat-based cultures by writing, "Being able to read these words, no matter how stupid, offensive, or wrongheaded, is a privilege, your reading skills the end product of a level of education most of the world will never enjoy" (240). Why does this underline one of his main grievances against groups like PETA and in some way vegetarians in general? Do you think he's fair in saying this, or is he missing the point? 

Q4: Clearly, he worships at the shrine of the great French chef, Thomas Keller. But why, specifically? How does he embody exactly the kind of chef Tony most strives to be, who makes the kind of food he thinks the world--and specifically America--most needs to eat?   

Reading & Questions for Bourdain's A Cook's Tour, Chapter 8: "Tokyo Redux"

NOTE: Be sure to watch the Writing Workshop #6 video below and respond with a comment sometime this weekend or next week. The Paper #3 assignment is in the post below that one (the video will help you with that, too). For next week, just read Chapter 8, "Tokyo Redux" for class. We're almost done!

Answer 2 of the following:

Q1: According to Tony, why are the Japanese as a culture so obsessed with making pleasure an art? Why do activities like eating, relaxing, and even drinking tea become rituals that have to be followed religiously? Another way of answering this question is, why aren't we built this way? What characteristic makes Americans and Japanese so different?

Q2: Somewhat related to Q1, when Tony goes to the ryokan retreat, he feels like the clumsiest, most uncouth barbarian. As he writes, "We are big, hairy, smelly, foreign devils, unsophisticated, loud, clumsy, overexpressive, and overfed, bliundering thoughtlessly through life" (143). Though he's only half-serious here, what makes him feel this way? Why might a lot of Japanese culture produce this effect on Western tourists?

Q3: When forced to eat a "mountain potato" and natto, Tony is unpologetic about how disgusting he finds both of them, even writing that "I thought I would die" (153). In general, what makes one culture find another culture's food disgusting? Does he explain what he objects to? Is taste culturally constructed like language and religion? 

Q4: On page 144, Tony lists some (but not all!) of the taboos to avoid during the kaiseki meal. As Westerners (and Americans, especially) we have relatively few taboos about the eating of food beyond "don't use your hands, don't burb at the table, etc." Do you think these rules can actually increase one's enjoyment of the meal? Or are they merely a way to exclude people who don't understand them (making a division between "them" and "us")? 

Writing Workshop #6: 'Barbarian' Customs

This video is meant to introduce (and give you ideas for) your Paper #3 assignment in the post below. Be sure to respond as a comment to the question at the end. I'll also post some questions for Chapter 8 of Bourdain's book by Thursday. 

Paper #3: You Guys Actually Eat That?!

“The Japanese love natto, an unbelievably foul, rank, slimy, glutenous, and stringy goop of fermented soybeans. It’s the Vegemite of Japan, dearly loved by everyone there, for reasons no outsider can understand…There’s just no way to eat the stuff…All I wanted to do now was hurl myself through the paper walls and straight off the edge of the mountain (152).  

INTRO: In Tony Bourdain’s A Cook’s Tour, he explores how different cultures eat, relax, and approach life through some of their strangest (to Western eyes) events, rituals, and meals. Each one tells us something about who these people are, and by extension, who we are (since we find these customs so strange). But some of them even shock Tony, who doesn’t hesitate to tell us how weird, disgusting, horrific, and physically nauseating some of his experiences truly are! Though sometimes, he learns to appreciate something ‘bad’ through the context of the culture itself (but not with natto!).

PROMPT: So for this assignment, I want you to write about the strangest, most confusing, most disturbing, and possibly most disgusting event, ritual, or meal in your own culture (it doesn’t have to be food). But it should be something that you see as normal, and that many people you know think is normal, but that isn’t normal to people outside of your culture/circle. What makes this experience so strange and so unappealing to others (and so wonderful to you)? What would they not understand? How would it make them feel (about you, about themselves)? And if this was someone’s only experience of your culture, what would they walk away thinking about you? Would it be a fair assessment? Is that who ‘you’ are?

Remember, you can write about a strange food that you and your family loves...or you can write about an American tradition that people in other countries would find odd or downright appalling (Okie noodling??). Try to see through someone else's eyes as you look at your own life.  

IDEAS: Can’t think of anything? Our next Writing Workshop video will discuss this very topic and give you some ideas…stay tuned!

SOURCES: Try to bring at least 3-4 sources to your conversation, other people who are talking about the same experience. What do other people think this experience says about your culture? ONE of these sources MUST be Bourdain’s book: show us how his experiences in other cultures relate to your own. Use his book as a model for how to look at your own culture.

REQUIREMENTS:

• 4-5 pages double spaced
• 3-4 sources
• MLA (or other) citation throughout along with a Works Cited page
• Due THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19^th for TUESDAY CLASSES
• Due TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17^th for THURSDAY CLASSES 

 

Reading & Questions for Bourdain, Ch.5 "How to Drink Vodka" and Ch.6 "Something Very Special"

Read Chapters 5 & 6 (you can skip Chapter 4, unless you really want to read it), and answer 2 of the following questions. Be sure to respond to the blog video beneath this post if you haven't--and not everyone has yet! :)

Q1: Expecting a bleak, depressed wasteland in Russia, what Tony finds is quite different--and much better than he expected. However, he does write that "One thing you get plenty of in Russia, no matter what your economic circumstances, is irony" (89). What does he mean by this? (be sure to look up "irony" if you're not sure what it means--it's a good word to know!).

Q2: At the Russkaya restaurant, Tony learns that the waitress is angry with him. Not for leaving a bad tip or being disruptive, but for not drinking enough vodka! In fact, she demands that they drink much more before he leaves, leaving him incredibly drunk by the end of the chapter. In Russia, it is a faux pas not to drink enough at dinner (look up "faux pas" if you don't know that, too!). How do Russian faux pas differ from Moroccan ones? What would get you kicked out of a restaurant in Morocco? Are they the same basic rules, just expressed through different cultures? Or does each culture truly see food, and hospitality, differently? 

Q3: At one point in the "Something Very Special" chapter, Tony gets in a fight with his television producer, who accuses him of "being difficult." Why does he feel that American TV culture is fundamentally at odds with the 'old world' sensibility of Morocco? 

Q4: One of the things Tony discovers in Morocco is expressed in the very last sentence of the chapter, which reads: "The universe was large all right, but no larger, it appeared, than the world wide world ahead of me" (127). What do you think he means by this, and what did he find there that made him see the world differently, even if only for a minute? In other words, what was so special about this culture for him? 

Writing Workshop #5: The Art of Food

This video serves as a kind of introduction to our next book, A Cook's Tour, which we'll start discussing next week. Be sure to do the questions in the post BELOW this one for next week (and read the chapters specified in the post). 

For now, watch this short video and respond to the question as a comment, and please put your name somewhere in the comment so I can give you credit! :) And make sure you WATCH the video--don't just try to answer the question using other people's comments (I think some of you are misunderstanding the prompt--so be careful!)

Reading & Questions for Bourdain, A Cook's Tour: Introduction, Chapters 1 & 3

NOTE: Remember that Thursday classes meet this week (October 22nd), though this is not due then. We'll introduce the book and some ideas related to it, though the questions below are due next week. Be sure to get the book and start reading, since your next two papers will be drawn from it! 

Read "Introduction," "Chapter 1: Where Food Comes From" and "Chapter 3: The Burn." (you don't have to read Chapter 2, but if you're interested, feel free--you can use it in your paper if you want. But I'm only requiring the three chapters above for now). 

Answer 2 of the following:

Q1: How does the "Last Meal Game" inspire Tony to go on his grand food adventure? What is he looking for or hoping to find? Do his ambitions seem realistic--or ridiculous?

Q2: Upon witnessing the brutal death of a pig for his supper, Bourdain notes how the locals respond to the bloodbath. As he writes, "Imagine your Aunt Minnie brining you a plate of cookies as you sat in front of the TV, a string of human molars strung casually, like pearls, around her neck" (22). Does he condemn the local Portuguese for taking such joy in the spectacle? Or does he learn to appreciate, in some degree, why they do this? Since this is a disturbing chapter, what does he want us to take away from this display?

Q3: One thing he says over and over in this book is "the things missing from the average American dining experience" (28). What are we lacking that other countries seem to enjoy or appreciate? How is our relationship with food and eating lacking? What does he think we've forgotten about food?

Q4: At the end of Chapter 3, Tony is filled with shame as he writes, "Suddenly, this is not fun anymore. I'm ashamed. How could I come to this city, to this country, filled with enthusiasm for something so...so...meaningless as flavor, texture, cuisine?" (63). What causes him to feel this way, and why is he continually ashamed of filming a TV show as he travels across the globe? What's wrong with being a culinary tourist, in his mind? 

Video on Finding Sources for Paper #2

 NOTE: Be sure to look through the post below this one, since it's a handout on finding sources that I gave to my Tuesday classes. The video goes more in depth, but this is the basic information. If you're not sure how to start the paper, the video also gives you a few ideas about writing a "so what?" conversation paper.

ALSO: Toward the end of the video, I try to show you a few slides from a powerpoint, but for some reason, they don't show up. However, you can follow what I'm saying without the images. Sorry! 

Handout for Finding Sources for Paper #2!

For those of you who missed Tuesday's class, or who have class on Thursday (since that's cancelled by Fall Break), here's the handout I gave the class about finding secondary sources for Paper #2. I'm going to post a video tonight to go along with this handout, but this is the basic information. Let me know if you have any questions, but do watch the video first because it will take you through the entire process.

FINDING LEGITIMATE SOURCES FOR PAPER #2

Q: What’s a legitimate source?

A: Something that has an author, and/or is from an authoritative source. Look for sources that come from accredited journals, magazines, websites, or other organizations. Wikipedia itself isn’t a good source since anyone can edit the articles and you can’t trace the actual author. Likewise, some dude’s website isn’t a great source since we don’t know what makes his ideas authoritative, or well-researched, or even credible.

Q: So where do I find legitimate sources besides a random Google search? 

1. Click on the “library” tab at the bottom of the ECU home page (go to the very bottom).
2. On the library page, you’ll see EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS) and a search bar. This gives you access to thousands of journals that will all lead to legitimate sources. Search for something here. For example, I searched for “drive-in movie theaters.” Click on “full-text” to make sure you get the entire article.
3. A variety of articles come up, and I’m interested in this one: “The Rise, The Fall, and the New Rise of Drive-in Theaters.” If you click on this, you get the full article (which you can listen to, as well as read!) and a variety of options to save, print, or even cite the article.
4. Read the article and see if it adds to your conversation: what new information does it tell you about your topic? Does it provide a naysayer perspective? Or do you agree with it? Find a passage you can quote in your paper so you can respond to the author’s ideas.
5. Click on “cite” and scroll down to MLA; cut and paste this for your Works Cited page (if you want to use it, that is).

Q: How do I integrate an article into my paper as part of the conversation?

A: Remember that you should introduce the article (author + title) and then respond to it, the way you would in a normal conversation when someone speaks: you listen and then respond.

EX: In Alisa Chang and Ari Shapiro’s article entitled, “The Rise, the Fall, and the New Rise of Drive-In Theatres,” Shapiro explains that a drive-in theatre “wasn't just appealing because it was cheap. Drive-in movies also felt more casual than the traditional theater experience” (Chang, Shapiro). This is important because with the drastic decline of drive-in theaters across the US, we’re losing that communal experience of watching movies outdoors, with your car packed full of your entire family (even your dog!) and not worrying about being too loud or having a kid snoring in the back seat.

Q: So what should my Works Cited page look like?

A: Remember, EBSCO tells you exactly how to cite the article. Then, simply cut and paste alphabetically (by author) into your Works Cited page like so…

WORKS CITED

Ailsa Chang, and Ari Shapiro. “The Rise, The Fall And The New Rise Of Drive-In Movie

Theaters.” All Things Considered (NPR), July 2020. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=n5h&AN=6XN2020072706&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Jarvis, Brooke. “Paper Tiger.” The Best American Travel Writing 2019. Boston:

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019.

Writing Workshop #4: "Sneider, Cursed Fields" (pp.278-291)

 Be sure to read "Cursed Fields" for next week and to help you with the Paper #2 assignment (posted below). I realize that only Tuesday classes will have class next week (because of Fall Break), so that's kind of a bummer. However, Tuesday classes will still meet, and we'll catch up with Thursday classes the following week. 

The video below talks about a very important component of your Paper #2--the "Naysayer." Be sure you know what that is, because I'll be looking for it in your paper. :) 

Also, don't forget to respond to the question in the video as a comment below. 

 

Paper #2: Circles of Interest: due in 2 weeks!

Not only is our planet surprisingly poorly understood, but we’re also less adept than we might guess at gathering these threads of local knowledge and experience scattered across the globe and frayed by borders, language, and economics, and weaving them into our collective understanding of the human experience. Our understanding of life on this planet is still mainly projected from narrow, elite concerns” (MacGregor 166).

For your Paper #2 assignment, I want you to focus on the idea of our ‘circles of interest,’ which often exclude issues that have wide-reaching consequences (like Siberia or Chernobyl), or seem small and local, but are part of the legacy of history (Australia, Haiti). So for this assignment, I want you to write about a local or regional issue which is somehow endangered. This should be something well-known to your family, town, etc., but someone outside the town, or state, or country would know nothing about (and might not care to). Some issues off the top of my head are: the teacher shortage in Oklahoma, tribal rights, the loss of indigenous languages, the loss of regional hospitals in  Oklahoma, the marketability of college degrees (in Oklahoma and elsewhere), access to healthcare for college students (or twenty-somethings), the loss of cultural traditions (Halloween, etc.), music education (or the lack thereof) in schools, and so forth. But you can write about anything that you feel is important.

To write this paper, you’ll have to explain the “so what?” or “why does this matter?” factor to your audience, who you should assume know nothing, or almost nothing, about this issue. How does it affect you and your region? What are the consequences of its ‘extinction?’ How might this issue be connected to larger cultural and historical forces? And how does it represent a larger conversation which does matter to everyone in your audience?

To help you do this, you MUST connect your issue with one (or more) of the essays from class, using it to help introduce your topic. Show how the essay explains that we should widen our circles of interest, and how issues such as culture, history, and the environment affect us all, no matter where we live. Additionally, you must find 3-4 SECONDARY SOURCES that help you discuss your personal issue. These can be journal articles (I’ll show you how to find those), website articles, books or chapters in books, shows, videos, and podcasts.

REQUIREMENTS

• At least 4-5 pages, double spaced
• Has to ask and answer the “so what?” question
• Must use at least one of the 4 essays in this unit as context
• Must use 3-4 sources for support (quote, discuss each one)
• Due Tuesday, October 20^th for Tuesday classes; Thursday October 22^nd for Thursday classes

Reading/Questions for MacGregor's "Is This the Most Crowded Island in the World?" (pp.154-166)

 

As always, answer 2 of the following questions for next week's class!

Q1: Why is it significant that no one outside of the island knows the name of this island, and why doesn't anyone recognize Haiti as having the world's most densely populated island? (as he explains, Haiti doesn't even feature on Wikipedia's list of most crowded islands). What make this place such a well-kept secret?

Q2: Both of the essays we've read so far in this unit are about the legacy of the past...how we continue to pay (or suffer) for the mistakes and decisions of our forefathers. How does the legacy of Haiti's slave past continue to haunt it into the future? Why isn't it so easy for Haiti to simply be a modern nation among other first-world powers?

Q3: MacGregor quotes a local saying on page 164: "A rich man travels, a poor man leaves." What is the significance of this quote, and how might it relate to his argument about the importance of "free movement"? 

Q4: At the end of this essay, the author seems to echo our last essay ("Paper Tigers") when he writes, "Not only is our planet poorly understood, but we're also less adept than we might guess at gathering these threads of local knowledge and experience...into our collective understanding of the human experience" (166). What prevents us from doing this? Why can't we learn from the stories of other people in other countries to get a more diverse understanding of the world?

Writing Workshop #3 & Jarvis, "Paper Tiger" (pp.109-124)

 Be sure to read "Paper Tiger" for next week and watch the video below, which discusses the importance of context for creating conversations in your writing. Respond to the question at the end as a COMMENT. See you next week, I hope! And remember, it's never too late to come back to class, even if you've missed several classes. Our conversations might help you write the next paper. :) 

Reading/Questions for Hewitt, "A Visit to Chernobyl" (pp.95-108)

  

Answer 2 of the following questions for next week's class! Hope to see you there...and check your e-mail for your Paper #1's with grades and comments.

Q1: Many people are terrified of Chernobyl, because it was the site of the largest nuclear meltdown in human history. However, according to Hewitt, what is the reality of radiation here vs. the rest of the world? Where are the "Chernobyls" in our own daily lives?

Q2: On page 102, he writes, "Gazing up at this rusting masterpiece of Cold War technology feels like touring the Colosseum: a boldly ambitious, epoch-defining achievement of engineering that now stands as an artifact of a toppled civilization." Why does he compare this to the Colosseum (in Rome) and how might this explain part of what he learns about Chernobyl? What does it teach him about history--and the future?

Q3: How did the Soviet government respond to Chernobyl initially, and what did it tell the people that lived there? Why is this significant, and how might it help us look at our own response to the COVID pandemic and other natural disasters?

Q4: At the very end of the essay, Hewitt writes, "At Chernobyl, it's humbling to see h ow human ingenuity can bring about horrifying problems. But it's also inspiring to see how it can solve them" (108). How does an essay about one of the worst man-made disasters in history teach us about how we can solve them? What could be inspiring about this essay--or what we learn about Chernobyl?

Writing Workshop #2: Writing as a Conversation

 Here's your second Writing Workshop video, about 17 minutes...I know that might seem annoying, but hey, at least I'm not talking for an entire hour! :) But I do think this will be helpful throughout the semester, since the #1 thing I want to teach you about writing is that "writing is a conversation." Watch more below.

ALSO: The response question is at the end of the video, so you'll have to watch it to get the question. Respond as a COMMENT, or e-mail it to me if you can't get it to post. Let me know if you have any questions about your paper as well! Good luck! 

Reading & Questions: Gregory, "Finished" (pp.43-54)

NOTE: If you don't have the book for whatever reason, or would rather read it on-line, here's the link to the original article as published in The New Yorker in 2018: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/10/08/lessons-from-the-last-swiss-finishing-school

Answer 2 of the following questions:

Q1: Why are so-called "finishing schools" looked down upon today? Why do so few women attend them, and why do the ones who do tend to hide it or keep it secret? What makes them unfashionable or even politically incorrect?

Q2: While the word "etiquette" has a negative connotation for most people, sounding snooty or pretentious, how does the essay define it? Why is etiquette important for cultural exchange and mutual understanding? Related to this, do you think etiquette is more a set of rules or a philosophy?

Q3: One of the students of the Villa claims that "There are unspoken rules in business and in life...Our success is based at least a little bit on how much we violate them" (48). What does she mean by this, and why might the most important rules in life be "unspoken"?

Q4: At the very end of the essay, the author records a small act of kindness on a funicular (a railway car on a mountain). Why does this kindness surprise her so much, and what does it have to do with the business of etiquette at the villa? Isn't he just being polite?  

Paper #1: The Etiquette of Travel

Philbrook Museum in Tulsa, OK

INTRO: Each of the essays we’ve read so far in The Best American Travel Writing 2019 has tried to demonstrate that behind every tourist destination is a culture, one that the tourists often don’t often see or understand. And the danger of misunderstanding a culture is not just remaining ignorant… it can cause actual harm to the people and the environment they live in. Or, as Alice Gregory writes in her essay “Finished,” “Etiquette is not something you learn for yourself…It’s something you do for others” (53). So what is the etiquette of travel? What do you owe the places you visit and the people you meet? And what do they give you in return?

PROMPT: For your first essay, I want you to give advice to someone planning to visit your favorite place in the world (it can be anywhere, any type of place). Why is this place special to you—what did it teach you? Likewise, how should they behave there to feel the same way? What is the ‘etiquette’ of this place, and why is it important to respect it and the people who either live/work there? What might be the danger of not understanding this—or not knowing why this place exists and is important to people? Again, try to help us understand your relationship to this place, maybe how you first came there, and what you learned about the etiquette of going there and being part of it.

EXAMPLE: One of my favorite places in the state is the Philbrook Art Museum in Tulsa. I’ve been there at least twenty times, sometimes spending half the day there. In my essay, I would explain what it was like to go there for the first time, why it became so special to me, and what I learned over the years about respecting the place and the other travelers and tourists who come there (as well as the people who work there). In my opinion, the better you understand the etiquette of the place, the more you’ll enjoy it yourself, and the more other people can enjoy their experience as well. But it’s not like Nashville—you can’t do things here you couldn’t do in your own hometown!

REQUIREMENTS:

• You must quote from at least one of the essays in class in your essay (much as I did in the Intro). Use the essay to introduce points, support your ideas, or offer a counterpoint to your own observations and beliefs. Make it something we can learn from, and not just a quote thrown in to fill space.
• Try to bounce off some of the ideas in the essays and the conversations we’ve had in class. Think about why this matters—and how it could help someone appreciate this place more than if they wander around blindly and ignorantly.
• The essay should be at least 3-4 pages, double spaced, but you can do more. That’s up to you.
• DUE Tuesday, September 15^th by 5pm for Tuesday classes
• DUE Thursday, September 17th by 5pm for Thursday classes
• NO CLASS that week, since I want you to work on your papers and turn them in on time! 

 

Writing Workshop #1 & Fettling, Uncomfortable Silences (pp.30-42)

#1: Read Fettling's essay, "Uncomfortable Silences: A Walk in Myanmar" for next week's class. If you don't have the book yet, here's the essay (with pictures!): https://longreads.com/author/davidfettling/. We'll discuss this essay in class next week as well.

#2: Watch the video below which talks about starting 'in the middle' when you write papers, which takes its cue from Fettling's essay. Then, answer the question that follows as a COMMENT on the blog (so we can have a virtual discussion among the classes--you can read other people's responses and learn from them, and they can learn from yours).

Tuesday classes should post a comment no later than Friday.

Thursday classes should post a comment no later than Tuesday. 

Now that you've watched the video, respond to this prompt as a COMMENT below: Introduce us to one of your most prized possessions--some inanimate object that allows us to see or understand something essential about who you are or how you see yourself. Describe this object and your relationship to it (maybe even when you bought it, or who gave it to you) so we can understand why it's important to you, or why it is such an important part of your identity. I answered this with my own comment to help you along,but just take a stab at it. This is a fun way to start writing 'in the middle' rather than simply introducing yourself by saying "My name is so and so, I'm majoring in English, I'm 18 years old, etc." 

Reading & Questions: Petersen, "How Nashville Became One Big Bachelorette Party" (pp.251-267)

 

NOTE: This is your first reading assignment, and will be due the day you return to class. You can either bring a hard copy of the  questions with you, or e-mail them to me on the day of class. This is the work I want you to do "on-line" when you're not in class on either Tuesday or Thursday (depending on your class).

Tuesday Classes: this will be due next Tuesday in class (or by class if you e-mail it)

Thursday Classes: this will be due next Thursday in class (or by class)

After you read the article, answer TWO of the following questions in a short response--at least a few sentences, and try to avoid answers that sound like this:

"Yes, because she says that it does in that one passage." OR "No, I don't think so."

Give me some thought and try to be as specific as possible; quote from the article when possible, to show me you not only read the article, but to support your ideas (since not everyone will read/understand the essay the same way).

THE QUESTIONS (answer any 2 of the following 4):

Q1: Early in the essay, the writer says that the appeal of Nashville is "the ability to try on a culture while avoiding accusations of appropriation" (253). What do you think she means by this? How do you try on a culture, and what is appropriation? 

Q2: Petersen writes that "at the heart of the bachelorette ethos, after all, is the notion that every space, every restaurant, every service should accommodate you. During your visit, you bend the city to your needs" (261). Do you think this is fair? Should a city have to adapt to the people visiting it--or the reverse? What might be a down side to having a city cater so drastically to its tourists? 

Q3: Quoting an earlier writer, Thorstein Veblen, the author notes that "travel is always, at least in part, about being seen traveling" (262). Why do you think this is true? And why is it especially true in Nashville? 

Q4: In general, do you think Petersen (the author) approves or disapproves of the bachelorette experience? Does she want us to walk away from the essay shaking our heads...or does she want us to understand why they do it (and maybe, somewhat approve)? 

Welcome to the Course!

Welcome to the pandemic edition of Freshman Composition 1, Sections 11, 12, 28 & 29 with Dr. Joshua Grasso! 

This blog site will be our base of operations, and all of your assignments, announcements, videos, and handouts can be accessed here instead of on Blackboard. I'll explain all the work in class this week, so don't worry if you have questions. I'll give you the syllabus in class and will post it on the blog later in case you lose it. But again, don't worry about anything for now--I want to walk you through the class on Tuesday and Thursday.

Be sure to check your schedule: Sections 11 & 28 will meet on Tuesdays and 12 & 29 will meet on Thursday. The "off day" will be spent doing work on the blog, which you can complete on your own time, and won't be due until the next "on" day of class. Again, I'll explain all of this once you arrive. 

BE SURE TO BUY THE BOOKS FOR CLASS! You can find them at the ECU bookstore, or you can get them Amazon, etc., if you hurry. But really, hurry--since we'll need the first book by the end of the week. The books are:

* Best American Travel Writing 2019, ed. Alexandra Fuller

* Bourdain, A Cook's Tour 

I promise to explain everything else when you get to class! See you then! 

[NOTE: The posts below this one are from last Fall. You won't have to do any of this work. But feel free to browse if you're curious about the kind of work I usually assign.]