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?