Syllabus

Undergraduate Programs

SOCI 1020: Sociology of Food – Fall A 2025

Credits - 3

Description

Food is essential to human existence, and therefore is a central part of sociology. This course explores the relationships between what we eat, our health, and the health of society. What we eat as a society has social impacts, particularly on human and environmental health. We will use the “sociological imagination” to explore the following issues related to food:

First, we will begin by examining current Obesity trends and how government policy can impact the health status of a society.

Then we will explore Food Justice, and discuss food insecurity and poverty as food issues related to our health.

Next we will explore the role of Fast Food in culture, and how it influences individual eating choices.

After a brief discussion of childhood marketing, we will then explore several environmental health issues.

Finally, social movements related to food will be discussed as a mechanism for positive change locally and globally.

Materials

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

This course is an introduction to the sociological study of food and our global food system. Upon completion of the course, students should be able to use sociological perspectives to understand social issues related to food. An understanding of how current food policies and practices impact human communities, and therefore have contributed to the growing public health crisis of food insecurity, obesity, and poverty is the central theme of this course. The student should also be able to explain what alternatives exist in our current food system, and what social movements are working to create food justice locally and globally.

At the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Employ a social science perspective, including associated assumptions, methods, and terminology, to articulate how culture, society, global processes, and diversity shape individuals, environments, and/or human relations across and within groups.
• Demonstrate a sociological understanding of how our food system and the commercialization of childhood have created a public health crisis that includes food insecurity, obesity, and poverty.
• Articulate, sociologically, the real costs of producing the food we eat to workers, animals, society, the environment, and consumers.

 

 

Assignments

Discussions

Discussions provide an active learning environment for you and your peers to master the content in this course. Discussions are a MUST in an online course for student-student, student-content & student-instructor interaction for active learning. There are 7 discussions in this course.

There are two parts for a discussion – Initial Response to Discussion Question and Participation. Please note that unless you respond, you may not be able to see other responses from your peers to participate.

Initial Response to Discussion Question: Each week you will be required to respond to Discussion question(s) in a main post that is at minimum 200 words and at maximum 500 words.

Students should not provide just a summary of the readings but support an interpretation or argument. However, these are not mere opinion pieces; you must use the reading assignments and any outside research you feel is appropriate to back up your stance. You must use at least one credible, peer-reviewed source to back up your stance. Sources such as Wiki’s, How.com and About.com are not acceptable and will result in a zero grade for your discussion post. Newspapers and news sites can be used to link a story to your work but are not considered scholarly sources in this course. Be sure that when you are posting any idea or statement that is not your own it is properly cited.

Participation in Discussions: The minimum requirement for participation is 3 of each 7-day online academic week. This means to actively engage by substantively contributing or responding to your peers’ discussion posts in all weekly discussion threads. Substantive means comments that demonstrate comprehension and involve dialogue which uses critical thinking and extends the depth and/or breadth of discussions. ‘I agree’ or ‘disagree’ alone or similar statements will not be considered as a substantive response. Repetition and kudos are not considered substantive responses. Replies should add depth to the discussion and should not be used to correct or assess your peers.

To meet the minimum requirements for each discussion assignment, including the student introductions, respond to AT LEAST TWO other student postings, plus any follow-up questions are asked by the instructor. Keep in mind that proper APA format, and timeliness will also be part of the requirements for these discussions.
The minimum length for a quality response to another student should be 100 words, with a maximum being 250 words. Please keep in mind to be respectful to each other at ALL times.

***INITIAL POSTS FOR ALL DISCUSSIONS ARE DUE ON SATURDAYS OF THE WEEK THEY ARE LISTED IN THE SYLLABUS AND RESPONSES ARE DUE BY TUESDAYS. ALL DEADLINES ARE 11:59 PM EST ON THE DAY DUE. ***

Written assignments:

• Each paper should be turned in before or on the day it is due.
• A collegiate level paper should be Times New Roman 12 font, double-spaced, with a standard 1” margin on all sides.
• No abstract is needed.
• These papers should be written as a formal paper, cited, and using proper APA format, and requires detailed information linking what is written to what has been learned in class.
• Be sure that all sources used are credible, peer-reviewed sources that are properly cited and referenced in your work.
• Sources such as Wiki’s, How.com and About.com are not acceptable and will result in a grade of zero for your paper.
• Newspapers and news sites can be used to link a story to your work but are not considered scholarly sources in this course.
• “Fillers” and moral statements are not acceptable in a professional paper.
• Examples used in your paper must not be the same examples used in the text and / or in class; these examples must be from you and show your understanding of the material.
• Please make sure to proof-read your paper prior to submission. I will detract points for poor grammar and spelling.
• There should be no color added to this paper, a professional paper is in black/white.

Assignment 1: In 1 full paragraph, using the assignment guidelines in the course and noted above, pick a specific topic that you will be analyzing throughout the term. As noted in the introduction video, you can choose any topic as long as it relates to the course/material in some way. If you are not sure about your topic, feel free to email the professor for guidance. This topic is the topic that you will be using for assignment 2 and the final paper. For this assignment, state what topic you have chosen and why. No sources needed for this assignment.

Assignment 2: In a minimum of 1 full page of actual written text/response, using the assignment guidelines in the course and in the syllabus, discuss the topic you chose. Why is this topic important? How does society impact this topic? How does this topic impact society? For this assignment you will need a minimum of one lesson/textbook source and 1 outside scholarly source. Proper APA format is required.

Final Paper: In a minimum of 3 full pages, using the assignment guidelines in the course and in the syllabus, discuss the topic you chose. Spend one full paragraph summarizing the topic. Spend one paragraph reminding the reader why you chose this topic. After that, discuss how this topic has changed over time. Pick a sociological theory to apply to your topic. Which did you pick? Why? Discuss the impact this topic has on society and how society impacts this topic. How does this topic differ from country to country? If you could pick 3 ideas/concepts from this course to relate to your topic, what would they be? Why? Include 2 statistics from 2 different scholarly sources in your work. Four scholarly outside sources and a lesson/textbook source is required. Proper APA format is required. This page count does not include the title page and reference page.

Quizzes
This course includes 3 quizzes; all quizzes are timed and include multiple choice and True/False questions.

Final Project
Pick ONE of two options for your final project:

Analyze a meal from a restaurant to explore its nutritional content including any additive information you can find. How much does this company make each year? What is the average pay of a production employee? Consider the commercials you may have seen for this product and/or company that makes this product.

Download the free Yuka app (picture of a carrot) or other app that looks at nutritional and additive information, on your phone. Pick a packaged food at home or at the store. Look some of these up on the app. Find one that surprised you. Why did it surprise you? What is the product? What brand are you using? How much does this company make each year? What is the average pay of a production employee? Consider the commercials you may have seen for this product and/or company that makes this product.

Part 1 – Discussion
Write one paragraph stating what meal or product you will use for this project. If it is a meal at a restaurant, provide the name of the restaurant and specific meal. If it is a specific product, state the product, the brand/ company.
In this paragraph include why you chose this meal, its ingredients, and restaurant or why you chose that product, its ingredients, and company.

You cannot use a meal/restaurant or product/company that another student is using. The first one to post the meal and the restaurant or the specific product and company with their reasoning will be allowed to use their chosen meal or product. You cannot just state a meal, the details about the ingredients and your reason for choosing this meal/product are required to “save” your choice.

In your replies to your peers, add recommendations or ideas on what your peer can include in their commercial and/or offer website for information that your peer can use to gain some of the information needed for their commercial. Keep in mind that the website cannot just be the link for the restaurant or product.

Sources are not required, but if used, proper APA format must be used.

Part 2 – Commercial

If you chose a meal at a restaurant:

THE MEAL: Research a restaurant and select a specific meal to analyze.
Take note of all the components of the meal (e.g., main dish, sides, beverages, sauces, etc.).
Research nutritional facts. Look up the full nutritional breakdown of your chosen meal. Include key details such as calories, fats, sugar, protein, sodium, and vitamins. Also consider additives and miscellaneous ingredients.
Reflect on how these facts align with health, the commodification of health, the sociology of food, etc.

ECONOMICS: How much does this meal cost? Research the annual income of the restaurant’s CEO or owner. Find information on the average wage of the restaurant’s workers. Compare the two figures and reflect on how economic inequality might influence the food industry and/or how the food industry perpetuates inequality.

ADVERTIZING: Analyze any commercials and marketing for this specific meal and/or restaurant. Consider how the food is portrayed (e.g., focus on its taste, convenience, healthfulness, cost, or nutrition). Reflect on whether the marketing accurately represents the nutritional and economic facts.

Create Your Own 30-Second Video Commercial

Produce a creative commercial for the chosen meal and restaurant.

The video must:
Include true nutritional facts about the meal.
Include information about the income disparity between the CEO/owner and average workers.
Be real.

Turn in the following components:
A “commercial” that is no more than 30-seconds long that presents factual information about the meal and restaurant.

If you chose a specific product:

THE PRODUCT: Research a specific product on your shelves at home or at the store using the Yuka or other nutritional app.
Research nutritional facts. Look up the full nutritional breakdown of your chosen product. Include key details such as calories, fats, sugar, protein, sodium, and vitamins. Also consider additives and miscellaneous ingredients.
Reflect on how these facts align with health, the commodification of health, the sociology of food, etc.

ECONOMICS: How much does this product cost? Research the annual income of the company’s CEO or owner. Find information on the average wage of the company’s workers. Compare the two figures and reflect on how economic inequality might influence the food industry and/or how the food industry perpetuates inequality.

ADVERTIsING: Analyze any commercials and marketing for this specific product. Consider how the product is portrayed (e.g., focus on its taste, convenience, healthfulness, cost, or nutrition). Reflect on whether the marketing accurately represents the nutritional and economic facts.

Create Your Own 30-Second Video Commercial

Produce a creative commercial for the specific product.

The video must:
Include true nutritional facts and addictive facts about the product.
Include information about the income disparity between the CEO/owner and average workers.
Be real.

Turn in the following components:
A “commercial” that is no more than 30-seconds long that presents factual information about the meal and restaurant.

Final projects are due by 11:59 PM on the Sunday of Week 8.

Grading Policy

Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:

Grade Breakdown

Assignment	Points
Academic Integrity & Syllabus Acknowledgment	1
Discussions (6)	24
Assignment 1	2
Assignment 2	6
Assignment 3	21
Quizzes (3)	24
Project Discussion (1)	2
Final Project Video	20
Total	100

Grade Scale

Grade	Points Grade	Point Average (GPA)
A	94 – 100%	4.00
A-	90 – 93%	3.75
B+	87 – 89%	3.50
B	84 – 86%	3.00
B-	80 – 83%	2.75
C+	77 – 79%	2.50
C	74 – 76%	2.00
C-	70 – 73%	1.75
D	64 – 69%	1.00
F	00 – 63%	0.00