The Final Exam! See below...

 If you missed class on Thursday, you'll need to know a few things:

1. Thursday was our LAST class. The rest of the semester (the next two weeks, though we only have one day next week) you can spend revising papers and/or working on your Final Exam paper.

2. The Final Exam paper is below. It's a simple paper, and if you were in class, you've already started it with your in-class writing. Make sure you get this in by the due date, since I'm doing this INSTEAD of a sit-down final. 

3. Repeat: there is NO Final Exam other than this assignment. You do not have to come to class for the Final Exam. This is it, but you must turn it in by December 1st (see below).

4. All revisions are due by December 1st as well. 

5. Let me know if you have any questions! The Final Exam assignment is below:

Paper #4: Final Exam

PROMPT: For your final paper, I want you to continue the conversation we had during our last class, when I asked you to respond to the question: “If someone was traveling to America from another country and asked you to recommend a specific activity or event that would help them ‘see’ America like an American, what would you recommend they do or see? What would teach them something about our country, such as who we are, how we think, experience life, and express our unique culture identity? Consider what they might not understand and would need explained to them, but at the same time, try to communicate your own experience and history with this event or activity.”

REQIUREMENTS: Expand your in-class response (or start a new one) and but remember to write to someone who isn’t American, and has never done or seen this event or activity. Think about what you would have to explain or translate for them. IN ADDITION, use at least ONE outside source that also explains and supports your idea about why this is an important illustration of American culture or beliefs. Quote this source in your paper and document it properly according to MLA format (or other, if you prefer).

ALSO: This response can be more informal than our previous papers, but you should still try to write with detail and interest, as well as cite properly. The paper can be as long or short as you want, so long as you fulfill the demands of the assignment and answer the question with sufficient detail to inform and persuade your reader.

DUE: The Final Exam paper is due no later than Thursday, December 1^st @ 5pm. Remember, this is your final grade for the course, so do your best work and turn it in on time!

For Thursday: Egan, Chapter 11, "What To Make Of All This"

 REMEMBER, we WILL have class on Thursday, and the Paper #3 assignment will be pushed back to Tuesday to give you more time. I want to spend one more day preparing for it, and discussing the very last chapter of Egan's book.

We'll do an in-class writing assignment when you arrive based on Chapter 11, which I also hope will help you with Paper #3. 

No class next Tuesday, since Paper #3 will be due then. After that, we're almost done with the class! Try to finish strong and turn in the paper, since no one can afford a zero this late in the game.

See you on Thursday! 

For Tuesday: Egan, Devoured, Chapter 8 "The Age of Stunt Foods" (see note)

NOTE: Remember, we have to cancel class on Thursday because of ECU's Interscholastic Meet, which will be taking over Horace Mann tomorrow morning. So take the extra time to start thinking about Paper #3, and of course reading Chapter 8 for next week. Don't forget to do the questions, since a few people seem to have forgotten about them! (hint, hint). 

Answer two of the following:

Q1: Since restaurants like McDonald's and Taco Bell are already world famous, and people will always go there, why do both places work so hard at "differentiating" (221)? Why are the 'stunt foods' necessary in the first place?

Q2: We might assume that creating a variation on the taco or the hamburger is as easy as adding some cheese dust, or using a different bun. But it's a surprisingly complex science that companies spend millions upon millions of dollars on. What makes it so difficult to "reinvent the taco," or to create a new variation on an old favorite? In other words, why is it so easy to mess up?

Q3: How does the "Food at Work" factor (in Chapter 2) also play into the innovation necessary at fast food restaurants? Since most Americans are now eating at their desks, how did fast food have to adapt to these new eating habits? What product seems to most directly reflect this? 

Q4: According to Chapter 8, what do stunt foods say about the American cultural psyche? Why would a culture that is always drinking water and going on Paleo diets be tempted by the lure of stunt foods? Shouldn't fast food restaurants even be out of business now? Why might they suggest that we're "at odds with ourselves"? 

For Tuesday: Egan, Devoured, Chapter 6: Diet Evangelism

NOTE: The Paper #3 assignment is in the post BELOW this one, in case you missed class on Thursday (or lost it)

ALSO: You can skip Chapter 5, "Secular Church," since it's less important to our paper assignment. Read if it you like, but I won't hold you accountable for it.

Answer two of the following for Chapter 6:

Q1: What does the word "proselytizing" mean? How does this relate to food and diets? Why can we talk about food (such as "Gluten is the new Satan") in almost Biblical, and apocalyptic, terms?

Q2: How has the 'conversation' about dieting changed over the centuries, especially from the 1800s to the present? What 'science' has been proven wrong, and what new innovations/discoveries might be equally unsound? Related to this, why might it be useful to know the history of dieting to understand the present state of losing weight (and its future)?

Q3: Why might it be easier for diet fads and theories to take root today than say, 50 years ago? And similarly, why is it even harder to today to establish which ones are based in sound scientific fact and which ones are nonsense? Consider that "in 2014 alone, the FDA recalled seven faulty weight-loss products, issued over thirty public notifications and other warning letters, and even sent some people to jail for peddling illegal diet products" (173).

Q4: Quoting Harry Balzer, an expert on food and diet trends, Egan writes, "Food is fashion...we wear our food like we wear our clothes" (184). What do you think this means practically? How can we 'wear' food, and how can it inform and perform our identity? 

Paper #3 Assignment: New and Improved for a Limited Time!

 

English 1113

Paper #3: New and Improved for a Limited Time!

INTRO: One of the most important questions about food, and the one we rarely ask ourselves, is “Why do we think about what we think about when we think about food?” (Egan 9). In other words, what makes us eat what we eat on a daily basis, and why do we often make such bad decisions? Did we ask for these bad decisions, or are we simply buying the every shiny new food product that comes down the line? What could we learn about ourselves from examining the new products that food companies (and restaurants) introduce each year to meet the insatiable demand of their hungry customers? Because after all, this is what we want, right?  

PROMPT: For this paper, I want you to choose a relatively NEW food product that has shown up in grocery stores or on the menu of your favorite fast food restaurant. It should be something that wasn’t available in exactly this form a few years ago, and preferably should have the word “New” or “New and Improved” or “Now With Added…” somewhere on the box or the advertisement. It should also boast some kind of health or wellness claim somewhere, too. Your paper should start a CONVERSATON about this product, discussing some of all of the following:

• Why do you think this product exists? Who asked for it? Or who is it targeted toward? Would YOU eat it? Why or why not?
• What category from Egan’s book helps explain this product? Is it “Food at Work” related? A product of “Having It Our Way”? Do we see an example of “Selling Absence” at work? Is it part of “Diet Evangelism?” Or is a proud member of “The Age of Stunt Foods?” Be sure to quote and use Egan to explain this.
• What does it say about our culture? Why is this product uniquely American?
• What do we need to know about this food that we might not know? What does the name and packaging hide from us? What’s actually IN the food?

RESEARCH: Make sure you’re incorporating not only Egan’s book, but find an additional 2-3 sources that can help you talk about the product. These could be the company or restaurant’s website, articles about this food, about food products, health and wellness, the dangers of what we’re eating, how food products are made, what’s in the food, etc. Make sure you actually TEACH us something about this product and where it comes from. If we leave the paper knowing as much as we started, you haven’t written a useful conversation paper.

REQUIREMENTS

• Should be 3-4 pages double space (at least)
• Double Space and Word Process, please!
• At least 2-3 sources
• Include a Works Cited page at the end with all your sources listed (and you must use all sources in your paper as QUOTES)
• DUE THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10^th by 5pm [no class that day]

 

 

For Thursday: Egan, Devoured, Chapter 4 (see below)

 REMEMBER, no questions this time, though please read Chapter 4 of Devoured. We'll do an in-class response to something in this chapter in class, and I'll also give you (and discuss) your Paper #3 assignment. 

Remember, too, we're getting close to the end of the semester, so try to reduce absences and turn in as much work as possible. Every missed response over 2 will hurt your grade, and every absence over 4 does the same. You can also revise papers for a higher grade at any time before the end of the semester.

See you on Thursday! 

For Tuesday: Chapters 2-3, "Food at Work," and "Having It Out Way"

 Answer two of the following for Tuesday's class:

Q1: How has the workplace changed the eating mores of the average American? What eating choices have become hardwired into our food psyche? Why do you think this change occurred so rapidly--within a few years (since most mores take decades or more to become established?).

Q2: Even more than the workplace, technology has changed the way we eat and the way we think about food (and meals). What technology does Egan claim is the most revolutionary in changing our eating habits? Do you feel it's had the same impact on your own--or your family's?

Q3: Why do you think fast-food adopted the "Be Your Way" slogans and began selling a message along with their food? In other words, why did Burger King, McDonald's, etc., try to sell us a philosophy as well as a burger? 

Q4: What is "fast casual," and why has this trend exploded in recent years all across the American fast food landscape? Why does it specially appeal to the American cultural psyche, in ways that it doesn't appeal to people in other countries? 

For THURSDAY (see note below): Egan, Devoured, Introduction and Chapter 1 (pp.1-47)

NOTE: No class on TUESDAY: we'll return on THURSDAY instead. So be sure to read the pages above and answer 2 of these questions for Thursday. 

Be sure to read all or most of the Introduction through Chapter 1 for Tuesday's class--and be sure you have the book! We're spending the rest of the semester on this book, so you absolutely need to have it and to read it to pass the class. Don't try to skimp on the cost of a cheap book! 

Answer two of the following:

Q1: What does Egan mean in the Introduction, when she writes that "This fascinating with food as a mirror for our mind-sets began at an early age for me" (8). How is food a "mirror" for the way we think and conduct our lives? How does it relate to her other question, "Why do we think about what we think about when we think about food?"

Q2: If culture "is made up of a bunch of mores (be sure you know what this term means!)...American food culture is the set of customs, values, and behaviors related to eatinging and drinking" (14). Why do you think we developed this specific mores in America? Are the same throughout the country, or do they vary from state to state or region to region? Why do you think these are specifically American mores?

Q3: The Japanese word for death by overwork is karoshi. We don't have that word, but we do have the same phenomenon. How has increased hours at work, overtime, and working from home changed the way we eat and/or think about food?

Q4: How has the ideal of a meal, and when we eat it, evolved over time? How has the food industry, and the rise of 'food products,' changed our definition of meals? Do you feel this is bad or good? Or is it just evolution? 

Reminder for this Week!

REMEMBER, Paper #2 is due on THURSDAY by 5pm! You can find the assignment sheet a few posts down, but beneath this post are the handouts for finding sources and citing them. Let me know if you have any questions about doing this!

NO CLASS on Thursday! If you missed Tuesday's class, as many of you did, we discussed strategies for writing conversation papers, including the role of the Naysayer. But we'll come back to this soon.  

Next TUESDAY we do have class: I'll introduce you to the next unit of our class, which will focus on food as culture, and what our eating habits (and other culture's eating habits) say about us and them. Be sure to buy the next book, Devoured, since we'll start reading it after Fall Break. 

FALL BREAK starts next Thursday! And Mid-Term grades will be posted next week as well, so if you're not happy with your grade, there's plenty of time to change it. Remember that you can revise all of your papers for a higher grade! 

See you next Tuesday! 

Finding Sources for Paper #2 & Citing Sources (from handout)

Last week we discussed how to go useful research for Paper #2, and this week I gave you a handout showing you how to cite various sources according to MLA format. I've posted this information below for your reference. Please look this over before starting your paper to make the business of doing research much easier! 

FINDING SOURCES FOR PAPER #2 (and all other papers!)

Three Great Places to Start

• Linschied Library: EBSCO Discovery Service
• Wikipedia (the Links and Sources)
• Google Scholar (not just Google!)

EBSCO DISCOVERY SERVICE

• Use this like Google and type in your search terms. For example, “Serenbe Community” (from our second essay, “Youtopia”).
• You’ll get a number of articles from recent journals, newspapers, and books. Click on “full text” on the left hand side to make sure you’ll have access to all of the articles. Then find the one that looks most interesting to you.
• For example, I found this one: Phil Hudson, “Only in the AJC Serenbe Community: Culture and Community Coverge and Serenbe,” Atlanta Journal Constitution, 2018. You can read this entire article by clicking on the Full-Text link to the left.
• Look at the “Tools” on the right hand side: this allow you to print the article, e-mail to yourself, save it to your computer, or even cite it! It will show you exactly how to cite the article for your Works Cited page!

WIKIPEDIA

• Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia which is available for anyone to edit; therefore, it cannot be a reliable source in and of itself.
• Instead, search for an article and look at the bottom of the entry, where it says “See Also” and “References.” These are often links to actual articles and sites that the article used as research, and now pass onto you. These are a great place to start learning about your paper’s conversation.
• For example, in the “See Also” section of “Tourism,” I clicked on “Overtourism,” since that seemed like an interesting topic. That led me to a new page which also had great References, such as the article by Francesa Street, “How the village that inspired ‘Frozen’ is dealing with Overtourism,” published in CNN Travel.

GOOGLE SCHOLAR

• Works just like Google, except it’s geared to find more scholarly articles and websites that will be useful for college-level writing and research.
• For example, I searched for “Overtourism” and found dozens of great articles, such as “Venice: The Problem of Overtourism and the Impact of Cruises”

Citing Sources in Paper #2 (a quick MLA Guide)

For more information about citation, visit the Purdue OWL’s website: owl.purdue.edu. Click on “Purdue OWL” on the top, and then choose “Research and Citation” on the left-hand side. Click on “MLA” and then choose “MLA Formatting and Style Guide.” This will show you every possible situation you might need to cite. Some basic ones that you will probably use in Paper #2 follow:

AN ARTICLE DISCOVERED THROUGH EBSCO, etc.

Phil W.Hudson, For the AJC, Staff. “ONLY IN THE AJC SERENBE COMMUNITY; Culture and Community Converge at Serenbe.” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The (GA), 5 Oct. 2018. EBSCOhost.

A FILM

Daughter of Danang. Directed by Gail Dolgin and Vicente Franco. PBS, 2002.

AN ARTICLE OR PAGE ON A WEBSITE

Williams, Starlight & McAndrews, Mary Beth. “8 Places to Visit if you Love Star Wars.” National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 2022. 8 places to visit if you love ‘Star Wars’ (nationalgeographic.com). Accessed 27 September 2022.

AN INTERVIEW

Smith, Jane. Personal interview. 27 September 2022.

A YOU TUBE VIDEO

McGonigal, Jane. “Gaming and Productivity.” YouTube, uploaded by Big Think, 3 July 2012.

A PODCAST

“Best of Not My Job Musicians.” Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! from NPR, 4 June 2016.

 

ALSO, remember that when citing a source in your paper, it should look something like this:

In the 2002 film, Daughter of Danang, after refusing to answer the letters of her mother and daughter, Heidi tells the director that “I’ve closed the door…but it isn’t locked” (Dolgin & Franco). This is important because…

Introduce all quotations with context, quote or reference something specific from the source, and then cite the source in a way so it connects with your Works Cited page.

Paper #2 assignment (in-class writing on Thursday!)

For Thursday's class, we'll be doing an in-class writing to help you get started with Paper #2. I'll also discuss how to find good sources for your papers, and not having to rely solely on a Google search! :) 

The Paper #2 assignment I passed out in class is below. Note that the due date is October 6th, which is a bit later than what it states on the course calendar. I moved it back a week so you could work on it more if you wanted. 

English 1113

Paper #2: The Tourist Trap

INTRO: In Amanda Fortini’s essay about the realities of living in Las Vegas, “The People of Las Vegas,” she writes that “when you have very little experience of a subject, a single point can look like a line” (94). In her case, she notes how many people, both tourists and journalists, think that Las Vegas is only about partying, gambling, crime, and movies like The Hangover. However, there’s much more to Las Vegas, and refusing to see the reality not only limits the tourist’s experience, but also dehumanizes the town. All three articles in class seem to focus on this aspect of travel: if we only travel to be cocooned in a bubble of comfort, we miss the human connections that travel is supposed to offer, and are also blind to injustices that tourism inflicts on the locals (since every tourist destination is someone’s home).

PROMPT: For your second paper, I want you to choose a tourist destination or activity that draws a lot of people and money. This could be a town like Las Vegas, a luxury like a cruise ship, or a tourist community like Serenbe. If possible, try to choose a place you’ve actually been to and have some sort of connection with (to make it more personal). Your paper needs to do three things: (a) explain why people go there—what’s the attraction and how is it sold to people; (b) what are people missing about this place? What don’t they see or understand about it? (c) how does it connect to some of the ideas in the essays from class? For example, if you decided to write about Disneyworld, what might be some of the downsides of this get-away amusement community? How might it be a little like Serenbe in its “utopian” approach, or like a cruise ship in its philosophy of “the customer is always right”?

REQUIREMENTS: This is a true CONVERSATION PAPER, so you need to bring in other sources to have a dialogue with (You + Other Voices). That means you should use (a) at least ONE of the essay from class, though you can use more; and (b) TWO to THREE outside sources, which could be travel or company websites, articles about the place or attraction, or articles about travel/tourism itself. We will discuss how to find reliable articles and websites in class, so stay tuned!

NOTE: Papers that do not have at least 3 secondary sources will be returned without a grade. You can revise the paper with the right number of sources, but until you do so, you will not get a grade for this paper. This is a minimum requirement.

ALSO:

• The paper should be AT LEAST 3-4 pages double spaced, though you can do more.
• The paper should try to start “in the middle,” and think about how to introduce us to the place or activity without giving us a laundry list of details.
• The paper should have a TITLE that clues us into the message of the paper.
• The paper is due Tuesday, October 6^th by 5pm (no class that day)

 

 

For Tuesday: Fortini, "The People of Las Vegas" (pp.91-103)

We're going to read ONE more essay before taking a reading break, and this will be the last essay we read from this book. But KEEP THE BOOK: you'll need it for Paper #2, which I'll assign during Tuesday's class. Be sure, too, you have our second book, Devoured, which we won't start for another few weeks, but get it now while you still have time, if you don't already.

Answer TWO of the following:

Q1: Fortini writes that "Las Vegas is a place about which people have ideas...and one slivery weekend glimpse bestows on them a sense of ownership and authority" (92). Why DO we have so many ideas about a city that few of us live in, and many people have never even visited? Why does she suggest that these ideas give us "ownernship and authority" over it? Why is that annoying to the people who actually live there?

Q2: According to Fortini, who ARE the people of Las Vegas? Why might the answer surprise us? Why do you think tourists don't really see these people when they visit?

Q3: Fortini says that the residents of Las Vegas believe that "honesty is stronger medicine than sympathy, which may console but often conceals" (101). In other words, people might not be super nice here, but they rarely lie to you. Why is one preferrable to the other, in your opinion? What can honesty reveal that sympathy might not? 

Q4: One of the most insightful things Fortini says in this essay appears on page 94, when she writes, "when you have very little experience of a subject, a single point can look like a line." What does she mean by this? How does this statement relate to Las Vegas, and to many other subjects as well?

For Thursday: Battan, "Youtopia" (pp.169-177)

Be sure to read "Youtopia" for Thursday's class and answer TWO of the questions below as usual. We'll be gearing up for another paper soon, so stay tuned...

Q1: Though Serenbe claims to be a "premium-living paradise," and an escape from the pressures of modern life, is the author convinced? Where does Battan begin to have suspicions about the so-called utopian lifestyle in Serenbe? Or, what does she want the reader to question for themselves? 

Q2: Early in the essay, Battan admits that she, too, is desperate to find an antidote from the 21st-century lifestyle, but says that "Unplugging had begun to feel like another full-time job" (170). What does she mean by this? How could relaxing or simply 'taking it easy' become just as labor intensive as work itself? How might places like Serenbe be partially responsible for this?

Q3: What is the essential philosophy of Serenbe? What does it try to do for its residents, and why do the people who come here find this attractive? Do you feel the people who run Serenbe practice what they preach? Or is it an advertising ploy?

Q4: Toward the end of the essay, Battan responds to the health-industry mantra that "Health is wealth" by remarking, "but the inverse is more true--as a 2017 study in The Lancet puts it, "Low socioeconomic status is one of the strongest predictors of morbidity and premature mortality worldwide" (175). What is Battan's point here, and why does this suggest that the health industry--and in some ways, Serenbe--is treating the wrong problem? 

For Next Tuesday: Clark, “Inside the Nightmare Voyage of the Diamond Princess” (pp.2-23)

REMEMBER: NO CLASS THIS WEEK...attend your conference instead (see the conference schedule on the post BELOW this one). For next week, read the essay above and answer the questions below:

Answer TWO of the following:

Q1: What makes the tourists on board the cruise ship particularly vulnerable to COVID? How does this highlight one of the hidden dangers of exclusive travel?

Q2: The author writes that “the Diamond Princess remained a miniaturized version of the global order—because what other way could things go?” (10). What does he mean by this, and why does a cruise ship show us a uniquely clear portrait of class inequality in the world?

Q3: What was fundamentally flawed about the Diamond Princess’ response to the COVID outbreak? Why do you feel it responded this way? Could it have done it differently, given that its part of the tourist industry?

Q4: Dr. James Lawler, a director for the Global Center for Health Security, wrote on the respond of the US to the pandemic, it was “kind of like watching a movie that you’ve watched before” (22). Why did this seem so familiar to him, and how might this essay highlight the problem with responding to a global pandemic in the 21^st century?

Conferences Next Week!

 Remember, if you  haven't signed up for a conference, please come at one of the available times below. If none of those work for you, please e-mail me and we can find another time to discuss your paper.

All you have to do next week is meet with me for a ten-minute slot to discuss your paper (probably won't take long). I just want to be sure you can hear what's working for your paper, and what you might need to work on for this or future assignments. Remember you can revise these papers at any time in the semester for a higher grade, your choice. 

Here's next week's schedule:

TUESDAY                                            WEDNESDAY

9:30 Johnny                                        11:00 Connor

9:40 Gabby                                         11:10 Raynee

9:50 T.J.                                             11:20: Cynda

10:00 OPEN                                        2:00-2:10 OPEN

10:10 OPEN                                        2:20 Hunter

10:20 Chad

10:30 Destiny

10:40 Kyla

THURSDAY                                        FRIDAY

9:30 Riley                                        11:00 Dylan 

9:40 Jay                                          11:10 Joey

9:50 Emilee                                     11:20-11:40 OPEN

Brycen (around 9:50) 

10:00 Eliana

10:10 Ty

10:20 Austin

10:30 Brodie

10:40 Caden

Paper #1 Assignment: Why Are You Here? (due Friday, Sep.2nd)

NOTE: The reading/questions for Tuesday are in the post BELOW this one...

Paper #1: Why Am I Here?

The first three essays from BATW 2021 are about people traveling for very different reasons, though each one realizes that where they go is less important than what it reveals about the world around them (and inside them). Common to each one is the personal connection that we lost during COVID-19, and why travel can help us see ways to connect with other humans beings even in a pandemic. However, like Meg Berhnard says at the end of "Water or Sky?", "For the first time in a long time, I didn't need to walk away. I didn't need to move. There was nowhere else to be" (163).

For your FIRST ESSAY, I want you to answer the simple question, "why are you here?" Here means college, of course, but also at this stage in your life: why have you made the choices you have to get here? Are you already making other plans for the future? Is this a step towards those plans, or do you feel you're on the wrong track? Who helped you make this decision? Are personal connections important to you as you make these life decisions? Or do you feel too isolated and unable to rely on those around you? In short, reflect upon why you've traveled here, if this journey feels 'right,' and where you want to end up at the end of it.

REQUIREMENTS: You must use at least ONE of the essays from class in your paper, though you can use more. By "using" them, I mean you have to quote a significant passage that helps your reader understand something about your own situation. So ask yourself, which essay do I most connect to? Where is a passage or an idea that relates to my own life/journey? Help the reader understand your experience by having a 'conversation' with someone else's. 

Your paper should be at least 2-3 pages double spaced at a MINIMUM; you can do much more if you want. And remember, you can REVISE this paper after you turn it in, so don't worry about turning in perfection. Instead, do the best you can in the time you have, but turn in a complete or near-complete paper (don't turn in a paragraph and say, "it's the best I could do!"). 

Think about the ideas we've discussed in class and use them in your essay when they help you. Also, examine how each essay begins and structures their own story. In short, TELL A STORY, and don't simply write an essay. 

DUE FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2nd BY 5pm (in my box or via e-mail). 

For Tuesday: Jamison, "The Warmth of a Lost World" (from BATW 2021), pp.38-49

A Traditional Turkish Bath 

For Tuesday's class, answer TWO of the following for our last essay before we take a short break from reading and work on Paper #1! Remember to look up words you're not familiar with (or can't remember), and think about the Title and the Opening Paragraph.

Q1: This essay is also a mini-history lesson about Turkish baths and Turkish culture. Why do you think the author does this, considering the essay is really about how COVID is making it difficult to visit the baths like she used to? In other words, why is the historical context important? 

Q2: Jamison writes that "Visiting the hammams of Istanbul was like taking a rigorous course in pleasure itself, a syllabus committed to exploring the granular texture of bodily enjoyment, and to proving that pleasure holds its own pathways to meaning, that it might matter most at precisely those moments when it seems most out of place" (44). What do you think she means by this? Why in a world experiencing COVID-19 and lockdowns, are Turkish baths and the pleasures they offer so important? Why do we need to read an essay about them when people are literally dying or being hospitalized?

Q3: She also writes that in the baths, its easier to understand who people really are, since "everyone's impassivity is cracked open--at least in brief glimpses--by physical extremity and pleasure" (47). Why do the baths allow us to see people in a more true or honest light? What does she think they really do to people?

Q4: Obviously, we can't go to a Turkish bath (or hammam) in Ada, Oklahoma, so we can't completely understand what she sees and feels there. But based on what she's writing about, where could we have a similar experience here, or even in your own hometown? Where can we feel that "there are literally 7 billion other ways to be alive besides the particular way I am alive" (48)? 

For Thursday: Bernhard, "Water or Sky?" (from Best American Travel Writing 2021), pp.155-163

"The End of the World"--the tip of Spain in Fisterra, in Spain

 As before, answer TWO of the questions below for class on Thursday. Also, try to look up words you don't know...we'll have a collaborative 'quiz' on some words before class that you can include in your questions. 

Q1:  Our first author used travel as an excuse to eat, and through eating, discover different people and cultures. Why does this author travel? What do you think he means when he writes, "I wanted to be in motion" (156). 

Q2: Related to the above, why do you think the author is writing about the death (or suicide?) of a young German man he didn't even know? Why retrace his steps and meet his mother and write an article about him? How might this, too, be related to his reasons for traveling?

Q3: Though Max was German and from a town most of us can't pronounce, much less have ever heard of, what makes him similar to many young people today? Can you, as a college student, relate to some of his fears and anxieties? Why might the modern world be creating more Maxes than ever before? 

Q4: In many ways, the best part of traveling is coming back home. How does writing this story allow the author to do this? Consider the end of the essay, when he writes, "For the first time in a long time, I didn't need to walk away. I didn't need to move. There was nowhere else to be" (163).  

For Tuesday: Best American Travel Writing: Galuten, "Food, It Turns Out, Has Little to Do with Why I Love to Travel (84-90)

For Tuesday's class, read this short essay from your Best American Travel Writing book. Then, answer any TWO of the following questions and bring them to class with you on Tuesday.

Remember, these aren't yes/no questions, and I want you to think about them rather than just say "yes, I think this." Try to think out loud on paper and consider some of the 'gray areas' of the questions--the things that don't have an obvious answer. We'll discuss your answers in class on Tuesday.

Answer TWO of the following:

Q1. In general, why does Galuten like to "discover a new city, stomach first" (84)? Why might food, for him, give a unique insight into the culture and personality of a town or city? In other words, what does food tell us (or him) that simply talking to people wouldn't?

Q2. He describes the experience of eating alone in his car like "being single and reconnecting with an ex only to both immediately discover that there's nothing there anymore--two empty vessels with no connection beyond a memory" (86). Why does taking the place and the people out of the equation seem to ruin the food? What was he 'tasting' before that's no longer there?

Q3. According to Galuten, "This disease has been a reflection and amplifier of all of our weak points" (89). How does this essay underscore one of the scariest and most tragic things about the pandemic? And how might it relate to other things we've lost without realizing it?

Q4. Beyond food, what is Galuten really saying in this essay about the importance of human contact and connection? In a world that is increasingly making everything from shopping to educating more isolated and anonymous, why should we be worried? What are we losing besides someone to talk to? 

Welcome to the Course!

 This is the official blog for our Freshman Composition 1 course, where you can find everything you'll need for the class: the daily readings, questions, paper assignments, handouts, and other announcements. Remember that the first post you see is the most recent, and you only need to scroll down to find older ones. If you miss class, the next day's assignment will appear shortly after our scheduled class time. 

Be sure to buy both books for the course as soon as possible: The Best American Travel Writing 2021, and Devoured. We will start reading the first one next week, so your first set of questions will appear on Thursday. 

If you need any help, you can always come to my office just before or after class, or during my regular office hours (see syllabus). You can also e-mail me at any time at jgrasso@ecok.edu. 

See you in class!