Course: SAT 105 Urban Agricultural Issues

Unit 11 Writing Assignment

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Writing Assignment: Foods and Cultural Integrity and Identity (20 points)

There is currently not a lot in the literature on foods and cultural integrity though the connection has always been recognized.  As people emigrate from their native areas or countries to new locations they tend to bring the foods they know with them.  This provides a needed connection both to the place they are from and to each other as part of a group.  This is true for groups as small as a family and as big as large mass movements (such as the Irish to America after the potato famine).

For this assignment you will write a paper of at least two pages.  In the paper take a look at your own familial or cultural background.  Describe the background you are identifying with and what it means for you to be part of that background.  For instance, you may say you are Polish or Mexican or Vietnamese or Italian.  You may not necessarily identify with a country or ethnic group but more with an area or region, such as the South or the east coast.  That’s fine and you can still examine how specific foods can be a source of identity.

List some foods that you eat which you consider to be part of that background and which are a connection to it.  For each of the foods answer the following questions:

1. Is this particular food generally consumed by those not in your culture or family?
2. Is this particular food generally available “off the shelf” at local grocery stores?
3. If the food is not an off-the-shelf item is it available at local specialty markets or must it be made from scratch?
4. If the food can only be obtained from specialty outlets or made from scratch why is it important to you and your culture or family to go through the trouble to make it?

Finally think about moving to a different country and what being able to obtain your specific foods there might mean to you as you try to fit in to a new culture.  Resources are not required; however, if you use them, cite them.

Once you have completed the report, save your work in a document. Place the completed assignment in the Dropbox for this unit, found on the Course Home page.

Writing Assignment Rubric
Points (20 possible) | Description
8 | Essay reflects content accuracy and reflects current practices/understanding.
6 | Writing assignment uses proper punctuation, sentence structure and expressed clearly in your own words.
6 | Adheres to reference guidelines in ’Citations, References and Formatting Guidelines’ document.

Click on the item below to download and read.
- Citation References and Formatting Guidelines.pdf (88.76 KB)