Food and Society

SYLLABUS, COURSE OUTLINE

FOOD AND SOCIETY (HUN 2125)

FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY, VALENCIA, SPAIN

CREDITS: 3

COURSE DESCRIPTION, OBJECTIVES AND EXPECTATIONS

Spaniards eat very well. The local ingredients are high quality and varied.

Traditional dishes are simple yet elegant and flavourful. And surprisingly, although portions are abundant and meals are frequent (5 meals a day) the diet is so healthy that obesity is rarely a problem. Recently the UN has declared the Mediterranean Diet a world heritage. In addition, today Spain is in the vanguard of innovative and experimental cuisine attracting the attention of chefs and diners from around the world. For these reasons and because the culture of Spain and it?s ?foodways? are so closely intertwined Valencia is the perfect place to explore and experience the topics covered in this introductory course on Food and Society.

Although I could explain in class how things are here in Spain I think it will be much more meaningful, and a lot more fun, if you explore, experiment and discover Spanish food and its relationship to Spanish society for yourself. This course will consist of a series of activities that will take us outside the classroom and into Spanish markets, specialty shops, tapas bars, restaurants and kitchens so that you may truly experience the richness of the Spanish culture through its food.

Note: There will be other costs (Approx 55 euros) related to cooking classes, meals at restaurants and wine tasting. You will be expected to use and pay public transportation when required.

Because students are expected to be an active part of these activities, ATTENDANCE is essential. Note that attendance affects your FINAL GRADE.

- GRADING POLICY
1. GRADED ACTIVITIES 40%

A)GRADED ACTIVITIES TEAM EXERCISE (GATE)
GATE 1: WORLD HUNGER AND GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES
Written exercise and oral presentation. 20 min.

GATE 2: COOKING WORKSHOP: CREATE YOUR OWN TAPA
Buy, prepare and present your tapa

B) GRADED ACTIVITIES, INDIVIDUAL EXERCISE

GAIE 1: Diary of your experience with Spanish food.
GAIE 2: Compare American Diet and Mediterranean Diet basic food products, ways of cooking and eating.

Oral presentation.
GAIE 3: Comments on a Spanish Region. Oral presentation.

GRADING SCALE FOR EACH PROJECT (GATE OR GAIE)

-Project meets basic criteria for content and length 5 %
-The quality of the work shows effort 6%
-Good supporting material (Photos, graphics, etc) 7%
-Done with creativity and originality 8%
-Maximum 40%

2. ATTENDANCE AND ASSESMENT 30%
Attending class and activities (city fieldtrips) IS MANDATORY in this course. Your attendance, interest, enthusiasm and contribution in class will be observed. Students will not be allowed to have any unexcused absences. Each unexcused absence will reduce the final grade by 3%. Excused absences comprise the following: participation in a scheduled event as a member of a university-sponsored athletic/scholastic team (official, absence form required); religious holidays; accident or illness (accident report or FSU health/doctor?s note required); and death in the immediate family. Excuses for absences must be submitted within two (2) days after the day of return.

Students may not make up graded work for unexcused absences (see Assessment policy below). Students must be sure to come to class and activities on time! Two considerable ?lates? equal one unexcused absence.

Assessment:
Except in the case of excused absences or extreme extenuating circumstances the following will be the policy of this class: 1) late assignments will not be accepted, 2) there will be no ?make up?s? of quizzes or exams, 3) no quizzes or exams will be given early. The passing grade for this course is C-(70). No curves are applied to grades in this class.

No assignments or homework are accepted via e-mail.
Maximum 30%

3. EXAMS 30%

There will be a midterm exam and a final exam (12% and 18% respectively). They will consist of any combination of multiple choice, true/false, short answer and essay questions. The dates of the exams are in the course outline. Maximum 30 %

FINAL GRADE COMPONENTS AND GRADING SCALE

1.GRADED ACTIVITIES 40%
2 Team Expositions (GATE) 8% each
3 Individual Expositions (GAIE) 8% each

2.CLASS PERFORMANCE 30%

3.EXAMS 30%
Midterm exam 12%
Final exam 18%

GRADING SCALE
A 94-100
A- 90-93
B+ 87-89
B 84-86
B- 80-83
C+ 77-79
C 74-76
C- 70-73
D+ 67-69
D 64-66
D- 60-63
F 0-59

Remember that the passing grade for this course is C- (70%), and that no curves are applied to grades in this class.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
Students with disabilities or attention deficit disorder needing academic accommodations should a) register in and provide documentation to the Student Disability Resource Center(SDRC), and b) bring a letter to the instructor from the SDRC indicating their accommodation needs. They can perform similar appropriate actions as required at FSU Valencia Study Center. This should be done during the first week of classes. This syllabus and other materials could be made available in an alternative format upon request.

ACADEMIC HONOR CODE
The Academic Honor system of Florida State University is based on the premise that each student has the responsibility (1) to uphold the highest standards of academic integrity in the student?s own work, (2) to refuse to tolerate violations of academic integrity in the University community, and (3) to foster a high sense of integrity and social responsibility on the part of the University community.

Students are expected to uphold the Academic Honor Code published in The Florida State University Bulletin and the Student Handbook.

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
Please be aware of the fact that this is a ?flexible? syllabus, and it may be necessary to modify it throughout the semester due to pedagogical considerations. Any changes, however, will be minimal.

A class session may be recorded or video-taped for purposes of evaluation of either class assignments or the teacher.