LIT 3015:  Food in Film & Literature ONLINE
Spring 2011
Tentative Course Schedule




WEEK 1WEEK 2WEEK 3WEEK 4WEEK 5WEEK 6

WEEK 7       WEEK 8WEEK 9WEEK 10      WEEK 11 




Week 1
W 3/9              Introduction to the course; Review syllabus and purchase texts;
         Review Film Terminology

                         TO DO:  
  •                Complete JWU ONLINE COURSE ACCEPTANCE POLICY (LOCATED
                         UNDER "COURSE CONTENT" IN THE FOLDER TITLED "REVIEW
                         AND COMPLTETE TO BEGIN COURSE").
  •                Log out of Ulearn; on the right side of the page, you will see "Get a Taste of
                        Online Learning."  Click that and read the info at each of the links in this folder
  •                Complete post to Meet/Greet forum (folder located under "course content");
                         due by 8am on M 3/14
  •                Watch The Cutting Edge videos Parts 1-4
  •                Read Film Terminology Notes
  •                View powerpoint of Pan's Labyrinth stills and terminology
                         screen, click on the small square with  an arrow next to the word 'Directions' on
                         the left corner.
  •                Complete Discussion Board #1 by posting a 300 word response to the
                         discussion board by class time on M 3/14:   Now that you have watched The
                         Cutting Edge, watch the clip below from Eat, Drink, Man, Woman - a movie that
                        examines how food binds families together and discuss how the camera looks at
                        food in these scenes. It takes place in Taiwan and tells the story of a widowed
                        father who is a chef and who has three daughters who seem to be rejecting the
                        traditional way of life. the clips are as follows:  the father preparing a traditonal
                        dinner for his daughers, his workplace, and finally one of his daughters also
                         preparing meals.  

                        How does the camera "look" at the food"?  What response does it evoke in the
                        viewer and how does its movements help us to make connections between the
                        different things we are seeing?


M   3/14          Discuss Jenab Essay

                         TO DO:
  •                Respond to two posts made by other students on Discussion Board#1
                        by 8am W 3/16.  In your follow-up responses discuss what new ideas their posts
                         prompted for you.  You may also ask them questions about their posts.  Each of
                        your follow-up responses should be a minimum of 150 words each (300 words
                        total)
  •                Read  "Persian Perfection" by Becky Ruiz Jenab, 47-51 in Alimentum
  •                Complete Discussion Board  #2 by posting a 300 word response to the
                         discussion board by class time on W 3/16:  What do you see as the central idea
                         or theme of this text?  How is the metaphor of food connected to this theme?
Week 2
W 3/16             Watch Eat Drink Man Woman; Discuss Movie

                        TO DO:   
  •                Watch Eat Drink Man Woman (on reserve at each campus library).
  •               Respond to two posts made by other students on Discussion Board #2
                        fby 8am M 3/21.  In your follow-up responses
                        discuss what new ideas their posts prompted for you.  You may also ask
                        them questions about their posts.  Each of your follow-up responses
                        should be a minimum of 150 words each (300 words total)
  •                Complete Discussion Board  #3 by posting a 300 word response
                         by class time on Monday, 3/21  What do you see as an important theme in this
                         film and what connections do  you see to the Jenab essay?


M  3/21           Complete Invention Work for Responding to Film essay
                         
         TO DO:  
  •                Respond to two posts made by other students on Discussion Board #3
                         by 8am W 3/23.  In your follow-up responses discuss what new ideas their 
                         posts prompted for you.  You may also ask
                        them questions about their posts.  Each of your follow-up responses
                        should be a minimum of 150 words each (300 words total).
  •               Complete Discussion Board #4 by posting a 300 word response by class
                        time on W 3/23:  What is the central conflict in Eat Drink Man Woman and how
                        is that connected to the idea of food?
  •                BeginWork on Responding to Film essay


Week 3
W  3/23           Work on Responding to Film Essay

                         TO DO:  
  •                Participate in live chat from 8-9pm.  See instructions in course
                         announcements.
  •                Respond to two posts made by other students on Discussion Board #4
                         by 8am M 3/28.  In your follow-up responses discuss what new ideas their 
                         posts prompted for you.  You may also ask
                        them questions about their posts.  Each of your follow-up responses
                        should be a minimum of 150 words each (300 words total).
                         3/28
                        
M 3/28            Final Draft of Responding to Film essay due with reflection; 

                        TO DO:  
  •                Read "Front Yard Fruit" by Ellen Estilai, pp. 29-35 in Alimentum & 
                        "Puffed Rice and Meatballs" by Lara Vapnyar, pp. 51-69 in Broccoli and Other
                        Tales of Love.
  •                Complete Discussion Board Post #5 by posting a 300 word min. response
                         by 8am on W 3/30:  How do the two stories by Vapynar and Estilai create two
                         very different ideas of community that revolve around food?  What is the central
                         idea of each text and how do they differ from one another?
                    
Week 4            

W 3/30            Read Responding to Short Fiction Essay assignment.  Discuss Babette's Feast

                        
                        TO DO:    
  •                Participate in live chat from 8-9pm.  See instructions in course annoucements.
  •                Respond to two posts made by other students on Discussion Board #5
                         by 8am M 4/4.  In your follow-up responses discuss what new ideas their 
                         posts prompted for you.  You may also ask
                        them questions about their posts.  Each of your follow-up responses
                        should be a minimum of 150 words each (300 words total).
  •                Read lecture notes on "Babette's Feast" under Course Content tab.
  •                Read "Babette's Feast," by Isak Dinesen , pp. 21-59  in Anecdotes of Destiny
  •                Watch Film, Babette's Feast (Dir. Gabriel Axel, 102 min.)
  •                Complete Discussion Board #6 by posting a 300 word min. response by
                         8am on M 4/4:  Why is being a chef to important to Babette's dentity?  She calls
                        herself  an  artist.  Why does she do this?  How does she use her food to
                        communicate to others and what is she stating?  Try to refer to specific scenes
                        and lines in this discussion.


M  4/4             Discuss "A Bunch of Broccoli on the Third Shelf" and "Sacrifice in Fukuoka"

                         TO DO:  
  •                Respond to two posts made by other students on Discussion Board #6
                         by 8am W 4/6.  In your follow-up responses discuss what new ideas their 
                         posts prompted for you.  You may also ask
                        them questions about their posts.  Each of your follow-up responses
                        should be a minimum of 150 words each (300 words total). 
  •                Read A Bunch of Broccoli on the Third Shelf" by Vapnyar, 3-24 in Broccoli and
                        Other Tales and "Sacrifice in Fukuoka" by Paul Silverman, 7-14 in Alimentum
  •                Complete Discussion Board post #7 by posting a 300 word min. response
                        to the  discussion board  to the following question by classtime on W 4/6: 
                        How do these two stories use food as a metaphor to present love, longing, and
                        desire in two very different ways?  Explain how the metaphor of food is used
                        differently in one of these stories in comparison to Babette's Feast.

Week 5
T 4/5               ONLINE CHAT 2PM! 

W 4/6              Complete Invention work for Responding to Short Fiction Essay 
                         
         TO DO:   
  •                Respond to two posts made by other students on Discussion Board#7
                         by 8am  Monday 4/11.  In your follow-up responses discuss what new ideas their 
                         posts prompted for you.  You may also ask
                        them questions about their posts.  Each of your follow-up responses
                        should be a minimum of 150 words each (300 words total).
  •                Complete Invention work responding to short fiction essay (submit to
                         proper folder in Ulearn); due by 8am on FRIDAY 4/8.

F 4/8               Invention Work for Responding to Short Fiction Essay Due by 8am

M 4/11             Work on Responding to Short Fiction Essay

                TO DO:    
  •                Final draft of Responding to Short Fiction Essay Due with reflection due by
                         8am on W 4/13

                         
Week 6 

W 4/13             LIVE CHAT 8PM;
                         Final draft of responding to Short Fiction Essay due  with reflection; 
                         Complete Midterm Exam:

                         TO DO:

  •                Midterm exam due by 8am on M 4/18

                         
M 4/18            Midterm due by 8am; Conventions of Poetry; Discuss Stoddard, Sze-Lorrain &
                        "Borscht"

                        TO DO:      
  •                Read "Borscht," by Lara Vapnyar pp. 25-49 in Broccoli and Oher Tales
  •                Read   "Clove" by Christina Stoddard, page 24, in Alimentum
  •                Read "Priileged" by Fiona Sze-Lorrain, page 15, in Alimentum
  •                Complete Discussion Board#8 by postinng a 300 word min. response by
                         8am on W 4/20:  Explain what you see as an overall theme of the Vapnyar story
                         and describe how this theme is related to how food is used as a metaphor in
                        either the Stoddard or Sze-Lorrain poem.    

T 4/19             Live Chat @2pm:  Subject = poetry   

             
Week 7
W 4/20            Submit proposal for term project by 8am; discuss Aleman & Johnson-Duell and
                         "Slicing Sauteed Spinach"
                         
                TO DO
  •                Respond to two posts made by other students on Discussion Board #8
                         by 8am M 4/25.  In your follow-up responses discuss what new ideas their 
                         posts prompted for you.  You may also ask
                        them questions about their posts.  Each of your follow-up responses
                        should be a minimum of 150 words each (300 words total).
  •                Read "Slicing Sauteed Spinach" by Vapnyar, 115-133 in Broccoli and Other Tales
  •                Read "Contest of Wills" by Michael Aleman, page 116 in Alimentum
  •                Read "Le Nozze" by Christine Johnson-Duell, page 26, in Alimentum
  •                Complete Discussion Board #9 by posting a 300 word min. response by
                         8am on M 4/25:  What is an important theme in "Slicing Sauteed Spinach" and
                        how is this theme connected to the use of the food metaphor in one of the poems
                        by Aleman or Johnson-Duell?  What differences/similarities do you seen in their
                        uses?            

                         
M 4/25            Discuss poems 

                         TO DO:  
  •                Respond to two posts made by other students on Discussion Board#9
                         by 8am W 4/27.  In your follow-up responses discuss what new ideas their 
                         posts prompted for you.  You may also ask
                        them questions about their posts.  Each of your follow-up responses
                        should be a minimum of 150 words each (300 words total).
  •                Read "Red Tea," by Carol Was, page 85, and "Alone in the Desert" by Bill
                         Mayer, pp. 90-91 in Alimentum
  •                Read "Tomatoes" by Molly Fessler, 92-93, in Alimentum
  •               Complete Discussion Board#10 by posting a 300 word min. response by
                        8am on W 4/26:  Choose any two of these poems and discuss their thematic
                        similarities  and differences.  Remember:  Theme  = central idea
                         Komunyakaa’s 'Facing It'” by Carol Miller
  •               For Your Reference:  "Facing It" by Yusef Komunyakaa

Week 8 

W 4/26            LIVE CHAT 8pm; Complete Invention work/outline and draft Poetry Essay
                         TO DO: 
  •               Respond to two posts made by other students on Discussion Board #10
                         by 8am M 5/2.  In your follow-up responses discuss what new ideas their 
                         posts prompted for you.  You may also ask
                        them questions about their posts.  Each of your follow-up responses
                        should be a minimum of 150 words each (300 words total). 
  •                Complete Invention Work:  Poetry Essay
  •                Final Draft of Poetry Essay Due witih reflection


M 5/2              Final Draft of Poetry Essay Due with reflection

                         TO DO:  

  •                Begin Reading Like Water for Chocolate, pp. 5-81
  •                Complete Discussion Board#11 by posting a 300 word min. response by
                        8am on W 5/4:  Identify and discuss what you see as an emerging theme in the
                        novel and how these characters are developed and revealed to us through their
                        connection to food? 
  •                 Final term project due W 5/11


T 5/2               LIVE CHAT 2PM             
                         
Week 9
W 5/3              Discuss Like Water for Chocolate

                        TO DO: 
  •                Respond to two posts made by other students on Discussion Board #11
                         by 8am M 5/9.  In your follow-up responses discuss what new ideas their 
                         posts prompted for you.  You may also ask
                        them questions about their posts.  Each of your follow-up responses
                        should be a minimum of 150 words each (300 words total).
  •                Read LIke Water for Chocolate, pp. 82-161
  •                Complete Discussion Board #12 by posting a 300 word min. response by
                        8am on M 5/9:   Discuss the parallels you see between the recipes at the
                        beginning of chapters and the plot in the chapters.  What connection do you see
                         with a prevailing overall theme?
  •                Final term project due, W 5/11

M 5/9             Discuss Like Water for Chocolate
 
                         TO DO: 

  •                Respond to two posts made by other students on Discussion Board #12
                         by 8am W 5/11.  In your follow-up responses discuss what new ideas their 
                         posts prompted for you.  You may also ask
                        them questions about their posts.  Each of your follow-up responses
                        should be a minimum of 150 words each (300 words total).
  •                Read Like Water for Chocolate, pp. 162-246
  •                Complete Discussion Board#13 by posting a 300 word min. response by
                         8am onW 5/11:  Identify and discuss what you see as an emerging theme in the
                        novel.

Week 10      
W 5/11             LIVE CHAT 8PM  Submit final project by 8am; Watch Chocolat;  Discuss
                        "Gjetost"

                         TO DO:

  •                Respond to two posts made by other students on Discussion Board#13
                         by 8am M 5/16.  In your follow-up responses discuss what new ideas their 
                         posts prompted for you.  You may also ask
                        them questions about their posts.  Each of your follow-up responses
                        should be a minimum of 150 words each (300 words total).
  •                Watch Chocloat (Dir. Lasse Hallström, 121 min.)
  •                Read "Gjetost" by Peter Selgin in Alimentum, pp. 18-23
  •                Complete Discussion Board  #14 by posting a 300 word min. response by
                        8am on  M 5/16:  In both the film and the essay, The preparation and eating of
                        food is described in detail  What is the significance of this, and what do the
                        attitudes of the main characters towards food show about their personalities?
              
M 5/16             Watch Like Water for Chocolate; Discuss "The Big Juan" 

                        TO DO:
  •                Read "The Big Juan," by Michelle Panik, pp. 72-83, in Alimentum
  •                Work on Final Exam

Week 11
W 5/18             Final Exam take due by 8am with reflection