Anthropology 315

Culture and Nutrition

Sections 50(10991),51(10995)

Summer 2008

Instructor: Sara E. Johnson, Ph.D.

Office Hours: by appointment only in MH 426L

Phone: (714)278-5762

Email: sjohnson@fullerton.edu (preferred form of communication)

Required Readings

Jing, J. ( 2000). Feeding China’s Little Emperors: Food, Children, and Social Change. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

Additional assigned readings are available on Blackboard in PDF format.

Course Description:

In this class we will examine nutrition from a biocultural perspective. We will use evolutionary theory as a foundation to understand human nutritional proclivities and requirements, and then explore the cross-cultural context of food procurement, production, processing, and consumption. Students who satisfactorily complete the course requirements will emerge with a basic understanding of the evolution of human nutritional tastes and requirements, as well as an appreciation of the causes and distribution of the cultural context of food.

Prerequisites (listed in the 2007-2009 University Catalog):

ANTH 101 (Introduction to Biological Anthropology) OR ANTH 102 (Introduction to Cultural Anthropology) OR equivalent.

Online course features:

Go to your student portal page at https://my.fullerton.edu.

On your portal you can find your blackboard username and password.

Click on Blackboard and login to the course.

Course Requirements:

4 Quizzes                                                                   20 points each, 80 points total

4 Labs and Write-up                                                  30 points each, 120 points total

Extra Credit                                                                 5 points

Grading Procedures:

Four scheduled quizzes will be given over the course of summer session B.  Quizzes will be based on lectures and readings.  Each quiz will consist of ten multiple choice questions or two short answer questions.  The timed quizzes will be available on Blackboard.  Books and lecture notes may not be used during the quiz and if you rely on your notes, then you are more likely to run out of time.  Quizzes must be taken during the week that they are assigned.  There will be no make-ups and no exceptions. 

There will be four lab exercises focusing on nutritional anthropology.  The labs and corresponding write-ups will contribute 120 points toward your grade.  ONLY EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNED BY THE INSTRUCTOR IS ACCEPTABLE.  Late assignments will receive a 5 point deduction per day or part thereof.

Your final grade will be based on the following scale. Lowest A: 180 points. Lowest B: 160 points. Lowest C: 140 points. Lowest D: 120 points. F: <120 points. This course does not use +/- grading.

Class Participation:

Your education is your responsibility.  In order to get the most out of this class: read and think about the lectures, integrate the lectures with the reading, and thoughtfully complete the quizzes, and lab assignments.  If you have questions email me or post a question on the discussion forum. 

Academic Integrity:

Please consult the Student Handbook for information on the University’s academic integrity policies. Violations will not be tolerated. Presenting other peoples’ work as your own or fabricating nutrition data are two obvious examples of academic misconduct and they are in violation of the University’s academic integrity policy.  It is in your best interest to familiarize yourself with the academic dishonesty policy, which can be found in the current student handbook or on the web at http://www.fullerton.edu/senate/PDF/300/UPS300-021.pdf

Students’ Right to Accommodation:

Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact the instructor during office hours to discuss a disability-related need.  Use of Disabled Student Services, including testing accommodations, requires prior authorization. For more information, the Disabled Student Services Office can be reached by calling (714) 278-311 or visit their website at www.fullerton.edu/disabledservices/.

Culture and Nutrition as a General Education Requirement:

UPS 411.201 requires all GE classes to include a writing assignment. 

Ø  “Writing assignments in General Education courses should involve the organization and expression of complex data or ideas and careful and timely evaluations of writing so that deficiencies are identified and suggestions for improvement and/or for means of remediation are offered.  Assessments of the student’s writing competence shall be used in determining the final course grade” (UPS 411.201, p. 1)

Your lab write-ups fulfill this requirement because you will organize and express complex data and ideas related to your nutrient analysis and human growth projects.  Forty percent of your course grade will be based on assessment of your writing competence through evaluation of the lab write-ups.

Anth 315 Culture and Nutrition satisfies the requirements for GE Category IV (Lifelong learning) and GE Category V (Cultural Diversity). Consult your advisor if you need more information regarding your specific GE requirements. The italicized sentences (quotes are from 2001-2003 catalog) indicate how Culture and Nutrition incorporates the student learning goals for GE categories IV and V.

IV. Lifelong Learning

Lifelong Learning provides the opportunity for students to integrate the elements of their university experience (core competencies, historical and cultural foundations, and disciplinary learning) in attempting to address the complex context and trajectory of human life. In this course we address the following student learning goals for GE Category IV:

Ø  “To understand the human being as an integrated physiological, sociocultural and psychological organism.”

Food production and consumption will be discussed in terms of the physical process, its evolution as a feature of the human lifecourse, and the social and cultural context.

Ø  “To understand the course of human life, that is, how human life and experience are constructed and altered through biological, psychological, social, scientific, technological and cultural influences.”

This class examines food and nutrition as an integral part of the human life affected by cultural context, demography, subsistence ecology, and technological advancements.

Ø  “To understand conceptions of the course of human life from different cultural perspectives.”

The role of food and nutrition in different cultures is one of the most profound and identifiable differences. Yet, people are bound by a common biological heritage. In this course we will examine the interrelationship between our evolved nutritional needs and wants and the cultural context of food and nutrition.

Ø  “To understand the importance of a lifelong commitment to physical activity and a healthy manner of living for both personal well being and civic responsibility.”

In this class we will examine the cross cultural context of nutrition and how it relates to health in different societies.  We will integrate into our discussion a study of activity patterns and nutrition in the U.S. and elsewhere using computer software

Ø  “To understand the basis and the means by which individuals and society make decisions.”

We will study the relationship between environmental demands and individual decision making that forms the foundation of cultural adaptation.  Cross culturally individuals make very different decisions regarding their nutrition.

V. Cultural Diversity

In this course we address all of the following learning goals for cultural diversity:

Ø  “To understand that culture is socially constructed and fundamental to social interaction.”

In this class we will discuss the bases for culture and the relationship of individuals to the environment and social domain in which they are living. 

Ø  “To appreciate the complex relationships that gender, ethnicity and class bring to a discussion of society and culture.”

We will discuss how the context of food production and consumption is affected by gender, ethnicity, and social stratification in terms of access to nutrition as well as effects on health and well being.

Ø  “To understand that because we live in an inter-connected world, we need to understand the diversity and relationships within and among cultures.”

We will discuss variation within the U.S. and across nation states that relates life experiences to features of the social and physical environment.

Ø  “To recognize and evaluate how one’s cultural history affects one’s sense of self and relationship to others.”

A unifying theme of every discussion will be perception of one’s own nutritional decisions and behavior and how this is related to specific cultural contexts of time, place, and life stage.

 Course Format:

Download syllabus Microsoft Word (.doc) file. If you do not have Word, please use the Word Viewer.