APPLICATION FOR COURSE APPROVAL FOR

GENERAL EDUCATION PROGRAM

 

Course Number:_APG 301 Course Title:__Anthropology of Nutrition

 

Check the general education core area for this course:*

__      Fine Arts & Literature                                                    __        Letters

__      Natural Sciences                                                           _X_      Social Sciences

__      Mathematical & Quantitative Reasoning                        __        English Communication

__      Foreign Language/Cross-cultural Competence

*Note: courses can qualify in more than one area but a separate form is required for each request. Students may use a course for general education credit in one area.

 

Department(s) in which course will be taught: Sociology/Anthropology

Faculty member(s) responsible for course:     Marquisa LaVelle

 

Will non-tenure track faculty teach this course?                           Yes                       No X

If yes, approximately what percentage of sections will be taught by non tenure-track faculty?    _________________

 

The integrated skills* that this course will focus on are:

 

_X_    Read complex texts                              __        Write effectively

 

__      Speak effectively                                  _X        Examine human differences

 

_X_    Use of quantitative data                        __        Use of qualitative data

 

__      Use of information technology              __        Use of artistic activity

 

*Note:  At least three integrated skills are required.

 

Course description (as would be found in catalog):

 

The study of worldwide human food ways and biological nutrition from prehistory to the present.

Spring semester; lecture; 3 credits

 

 

Faculty memberπs signature____________________________________________________

 

Chairpersonπs signature_______________________________________________________

 

Deanπs signature______________________________________________________________

The purpose of this application is to assure that the proposed course meets explicit goals established for the general education program. These are:

∑       the ability to think critically in order to solve problems and question the nature and sources of authority

∑       the ability to use the methods and materials characteristic of each knowledge area with an understanding of the interrelationship among and the interconnectedness of the core areas

∑       a commitment to intellectual curiosity and lifelong learning

∑       an openness to new ideas with the social skills necessary for both teamwork and leadership

∑       the ability to think independently and be self-directed; to make informed choices and take initiative

 

PART I

This part consists of six questions designed to highlight fundamental aspects of the general education program. Only answer question 5 if it is relevant to your course.

 

1.       If not stated in your syllabus, please indicate the primary learning objective(s) of your course.

The primary goals of this course are the following:

1. To engage students in an investigation of the complex relationships between food, nutrition and cultural practices relating to food.

2. To provide, through this investigation, a wider dialogue on the interactions between

social behavior and human biology, including health and nutritionally-based disease.

3. To introduce students to the methodological bases of nutritional research through

assigned readings from journals, laboratory practice in measurement techniques and through assignments requiring mathematical analyses of data. (See enclosed materials.)

 

2.       How does the proposed course meet the goals established for the general education program? Please refer to enclosed supporting materials.

 

Students in this course have several written assignments based on their readings. These

assignments typically require them to compare authorsπ points of view or to comment

critically on their content.

 

Students have three hands-on labs in this course where they develop experience in

nutritional methods and apply these experiences to themselves in relation to others of their

age in our own and other cultures. For example, an assignment on energy balance is

required in which students document nutritional turnover and physical activity for a period

of three days. Similarly, the course includes teaching modules on measurement and

statistical methods for cross-cultural comparisons of nutritional data.

 

The wonderful aspect of teaching a course on food and global nutrition is that even

Freshmen have extensive experience and interest in food. This course is designed to

provide the skills to continue that interest at a more critical level throughout their lifetimes.

Similarly, the course is relevant to studentsπ continued understanding of the inter-

relationships in their future lives between core areas (in this case cultural food resources,

food customs and human biology and health).

 

The classroom laboratories are organized on the basis of measurement teams in which

students work together in measuring each other and then analyzing the results. The ability to

work together is stressed in these exercises, especially since some of these measurements

are difficult and exacting. They therefore need each otherπs continual feedback to ensure

precision.

 

The last assignment in the course is that students provide a budget and a detailed

nutritional food plan for a single mother with two children on welfare. In addition to requiring

students to go to the grocery store, it challenges students to come up with real-life solutions

to real life problems, including hunger. They are encouraged to be innovative within

nutritional boundaries and to also confront the problems of commercialized American food

customs (chips and soda) with the needs of young children (carrots and milk).

3.       How is the course suitable for the general education area you have requested it be classified:? Please refer to the criteria for the relevant division as described in Appendix A as well as to your course materials appended to this form.

          This course incorporates the history and prehistory of cultural uses of food resources and their biological consequences with respect to nutrition. In its emphasis on cultural behavior and the roles embedded in food procurement, preparation and distribution, the subject matter is a classic social science approach. The Anthropology of nutrition is also global in its use of material and intellectual resources, involving worldwide comparisons

among disparate societies.

 

4.       Explain how this course provides opportunities for practice in each of the integrated skills you have listed on the coversheet.

 

1. The required texts for this course consist of an edited reader of appropriate journal

articles plus an in-depth ethnographic case study of a specific culture. In this latter text, students must decipher some of the course principles through analyses within a broader

and more complex context. The articles present opportunities for students to critically

compare viewpoints, whereas the ethnography provides opportunities for interpretation and

discussion. Students practice these skills through short written exercises based on the

readings. These are then due on the day scheduled for class discussion of the issue.

2.       Through the laboratory exercises, students receive practice in measurement data

and their analyses. Included are statistics for comparing populations such are measures of

central tendency, variation and conversion to standard scores. In addition students are required to convert indices and calculate rates of change. These are practiced by students

in class and on exam problems.

 

3.       The course examines human differences as a fundamental aspect of the Anthro-

pology of nutrition. This skill is practiced in numerous ways. The ethnographic text is always non-Western in content; course lectures are primarily based on cross-cultural comparisons; and written assignments and exams are reflections of this approach. Students use the quantitative skills they have developed to compare nutritional outcomes

between societies, such as levels of body fat, growth of children, protein intake and so

forth.

 

5.       Will your course sometimes be taught to groups of students larger than 60? If so, please explain what you will do to insure that each of the integrative skills will be achieved. Please explain how each integrative skill will be achieved.

No

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6.       If other instructors (including per course faculty or teaching assistants) teach the course, what will be done to ensure that the proposed content and skills will be maintained across sections and instructors? ( To be completed by department chair.)

 

The chairperson will review the content and the integrated skills requirements with per-course instructors before the preparation of their syllabi. Once prepared, the syllabi will be reviewed by the chairperson in order to insure that course content and integrated skills are appropriate to the general education program.

 

PART II

Please provide documentation of the means by which your course attempts to reach the goals of the general education program courses described above. Please attach a syllabus(mandatory) and all relevant course materials (e.g., exams, homework and laboratory assignments, classroom exercises) that will demonstrate how your course does this. In addition, please feel free to include any explanation(s) necessary showing how the course materials are linked to both the goals of general education program and specifically to the integrated skills.

 

Please refer to attached materials. Included are a course syllabi, examples of writing assignments and research assignments for this course. Also included is a brief note from Marjorie Caldwell, Chair of Food Science and Nutrition, concerning the impact of this course on their students.

 

 

 

 

 

ANTHROPOLOGY 310S                                                SPRING 2003

Marquisa. LaVelle                                                                                    Email: mlavelle@uri.edu

 

 

CULTURE AND HUMAN NUTRITION

 

The recipe for this course is an exploration of the cultural and biological relationships of food, diet and nutrition among human populations. We will consider the evolutionary history of food production, distribution, preparation and selection as these are mixed together with the bionutritional consequences of diet on genetics, heath and disease. Because culture is a fundamental aspect of human behavior, eating is seldom a straightforward biological act. Eating (and not eating!) is influenced by demography, ecology, social traditions, political structure, socioeconomic status, religious precepts, gender roles, power strategies and other cultural beliefs about what ideally constitutes appropriate "foods≤ , ≥cuisines≤ and diet. Therefore a large portion of this course menu is devoted to understanding food and nutrition and culture as interactive systems which can have significant effects on population biology and human health.

 

REQUIRED TEXTS: (Available at the Rhode Island Book Company and the Canpus Bookstore)

                               

           Alan Goodman, Darna Dufour and Greta Pelto, Nutritional Anthropology, 2000.

J. J. Weismantel, Food, Gender, and Poverty in the Ecuadorian Andes, 1988

 

RECOMMENDED READINGS:

 

Food in Chinese Culture. K.C. Chang

                        FAO/WHO/UNU: Energy and Protein Requirements. WHO report series #724

                  Dancing Skeletons. Katherine A. Dettwyler.

Sweetness and Power. S. Mintz

Food and Evolution. Marvin Harris and Eric B. Ross

         Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease 7th ed. M. Shils and V. Young

Pigs for the Ancestors. R. Rappaport

Hunger and work in a Savage Society. Audrey Richards

Africa in Crisis. L. Timberlake.

Always Hungry, Never Greedy, Miriam Kahn

                        The World Food Problem, 2^nd ed. P. Foster and H.D. Leathers

 

COURSEWORK (101 points Total):

Research Assignments: There are two outside assignments due during the term. Worth 15

points each, these are typed reports of research conducted by you on energy balance and on poverty.

Mark your calendars, these are due Thursday February 20^th and Tuesday April 29^th .

Reading Assignments: The assigned articles in the text, Nutritional Anthropology, should be read

prior to class. To help focus your reading over the term, there will be 4 assigned discussion

questions on the readings, worth 4 points each, that are due in class on Jan 28^th, Feb 25^th,

March 25^th and April 22^nd .

 

Examinations: There are two essay exams in the course worth 55 points total. The midterm exam is

scheduled for Thursday March 6^th (worth 25 pts) and the final exam will be given on Tuesday

May 13^th at 8 AM (worth 30 pts). Study guides will be provided in advance.

 

Course Grades: 45% of the course grade is based on the assignments. Papers and assignments should

be clearly written in your own words, typed and proofread. Late papers result in lost points and like

cooked fish, after 3 days are not acceptable. 55% of your grade is based on the two essay exams. Of

course, regular class attendance is expected.

 

COURSE OUTLINE

 

 

 

I. FOOD, PREHISTORY AND BIOLOGICAL ADAPTATION

 

Jan 21^st - 23^rd        Dining on Metaphor/Eating Cultural Symbols - Text #1, 19, 20.

Jan 28^th ≠ 30^th       Primate Cuisine and Nutritional Evolution - Text #5, 7, 10.

Feb 4^th - 6^th             Nutritional Requirements and Dietary Surveys ≠ Text #3, 4, 29

Feb 11^th ≠ 13^th Models of Energy Balance and Body Composition ≠ Text # 3, 28, 30

Jan 28^th         Reading Assignment # 1 Due

Feb 13^th Adventures in Energy Balance Due

 

II.             ecology and economy of food and nutrition

 

Feb 18^th No Class ≠ Presidentsπ Day

Feb 20^th - 25^th       Hunting, Foraging and Paleontology - Text #2, 9, 39, 40. 

Feb 27^th ≠ Mar 4^th Adaptation in Foraging Populations: Case Studies ≠ Text #6, 8.

Feb 25^th Reading Assignment #2 Due

 

Mar 6^th MIDTERM EXAM (25 points)

 

Mar 11^th ≠ 13^th SPRING BREAK     

 

Mar 18^th ≠ 20^th The Revolution of Animal and Plant Domestication - Text #11, 12, 14:

Mar 25^th ≠ 27^th Ecology and Agricultural Populations: Case Studies ≠ Text #14, 21, 23:

Start reading Weismantel

Mar 25th       Reading Assignment # 3 Due.

 

 

III.            ISSUES IN INTERNATIONAL NUTRITION

 

Apr 1st - 3^rd        Power and Poverty ≠ Text #, 15, 18, 33: continue with Weismantel.  

Apr 8^th ≠ 10^th The state of the worldπs children ≠ Text #24, 28, 30: finish Weismantel

Apr 15^th ≠ 17^th         Industrialization, Class and Gender- Text #31, 32, 34;

Apr 22^nd Reading Assignment #4 Due.

Apr 24^th No Class

Apr 29^th ≠ May 6^th Worldwide Over and Undernutrition ≠ Text #37, 38.

Apr 29^th Assignment on Food and Poverty Due.

 

May 13^th FINAL EXAM 8:00 ≠ 11:00 AM

 

 

 

 

Professor M LaVelle

505 Chafee Hall

874-4077

email: mlavelle@uri.edu

 

Office Hours: Tues and Thurs 10 -11 and 3:30 ≠ 4:30

Also by appointment

 

READING ASSIGNMENTS

 

Anthropology 310S                                        CULTURE AND HUMAN NUTRITION

 

READING ASSIGNMENT #1 (4 pts)

Due Tuesday, January 28^th 11:00 AM

 

            Note: Assignments should be typed, 1-3 pages, and on time.

 

            Consider the following: Specifically, what are the constituents of a McDonaldπs ≥Happy Meal≤? (You may need to perform fieldwork if you are ignorant of this item.)

 

1.     Compare the contents, presentation and context of a ≥Happy Meal≤ (note the name) and a Japanese nursery school lunch.

2.     Compare the metaphoric contexts of these meals with respect to ritual, family, and conformity.

 

 

 

 

 

Anthropology 310S                                        CULTURE AND HUMAN NUTRITION

 

ASSIGNMENT #1 (5 pts)

Due Thursday, January 25^th 12:30 PM

 

            Note: Assignments should be typed, 1-3 pages, and on time.

 

            Consider the following: Specifically, what are the constituents of a McDonaldπs ≥Happy Meal≤? (You may need to perform fieldwork if you are ignorant of this item.)

 

3.     Compare the contents, presentation and context of a ≥Happy Meal≤ (note the name) and a Japanese nursery school lunch.

4.     Compare the metaphoric contexts of these meals with respect to ritual, family, and conformity.

 

Anthropology 310S                                                    CULTURE AND HUMAN NUTRITION

 

 

 

READING ASSIGNMENT # 2. (4 points)

 

Due Tuesday, February 25^th in class.

 

 

1. According to Richard Lee, how much work per day does it take foraging groups to provide themselves with food?
2. How much work per day would it take you to provide yourself with food?

 

(Note: How much does it cost you an average day to eat and how many hours of labor per day would it take to provide it? Award yourself $11 per hour. Donπt forget the gasoline for shopping, the time for shopping and an estimate of time and energy cost of cooking.)

 

Anthropology 310S                                                    CULTURE AND HUMAN NUTRITION

 

 

 

READING ASSIGNMENT # 3. (4 points)

 

Due Thursday, March 27^th in class.

 

 

 

Both Dufour and Weismantel have conducted research on native Americans living in the Amazonian tropical forest. According to these two authors, how do you make a living in this very difficult ecosystem? What are the ecological constraints in farming, what is grown, whereπs the protein?

 

Anthropology 310S                                                    CULTURE AND HUMAN NUTRITION

 

 

 

READING ASSIGNMENT # 4. (4 points)

 

Due Tuesday, May 6^th in class.

 

 

 

What is meant by the concept ≥Delocalization≤ with regard to food and nutrition? In what specific ways do the Andean people in Weismantelπs book fit Peltoπs description of this historical process?

 

 

CULTURE AND HUMAN NUTRITION                                                                                  NAME:_____________________________

 

ASSIGNMENT 1 (15 pts): ADVENTURES IN ENERGY BALANCE

This is a two day assignment beginning 2/5 and ending 2/7. The written project is due Tuesday, February 20^th in class. Before you begin, on Tuesday 2/11^th weigh yourself in kilograms on the anthropology lab scale and record this in the box for day 1. Weigh yourself again on Thursday 2/13^th, using the same scale and record this weight as ending weight below.

 

Starting Tuesday at 2PM, you need to note when you eat, what you eat and a rough estimate of amount. Survey sheets are included for your use. Later, you can fill in the caloric values as well as total grams of fat, protein and carbohydrates from the materials in the lab or the websites. Also, on an hourly basis (unless asleep), you will need to estimate what physical activity you engaged in during the previous hour. This represents additional caloric expenditure above your calculated BMR. See the attached survey form (Sleeping is sleeping, classes are sitting, etc.) The energy equivalent values per body weight are included here. Please turn-in these forms with your summary calculations.

 

BEGINNING WEIGHT (Kg): ___________ ENDING WEIGHT (Kg): ______________ CHANGE (+/-) Kg: ________

CALCULATED DAILY BASAL METABOLISM (BMR) ___________CALORIES x 2 = _______________ (See Below)

ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL CALORIC EXPENDITURE over 2 days from p. 8 = ___________________

TOTAL 2-DAY CALORIC EXPENDITURE (Basal Metabolism plus additional activity): ______________.

TOTAL 2-DAY CALORIC INTAKE from p. 6 = ___________

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INTAKE AND EXPENDITURE (I ≠ E) = _____________.

 

ESTIMATING CALORIC EXPENDITURES

SLEEPING & BASAL METABOLISM: This is the caloric value of the amount of energy your body needs to function minimally. This Basal

rate of energy expenditure includes resting and sleeping, but all other activity above this level is additive to Basal Metabolism. To estimate

your 24 hour energy expenditure for minimal activity, sleep and rest, use the formulas below:

BMR = MEN: Weight in Kg X 24.2 WOMEN: Weight in Kg X 22.2. All other activity other than BMR is added to this.

ADDITIONAL CALORIES EXPENDED PER KG WT PER HOUR: Walking (3mph) = 3.52 Jogging (6 mph) = 10.8 Cycling = 7.5 Running (8 mph) = 13.9 Aerobics = 7.5 Swimming vigorously 6.8 Tennis = 7.5 Cleaning/Puttering= 2.2 Studying = 2 TV = 1.5

 

 

Table 1. Equivalents by Volume and Weight

This table contains some helpful volume and

weight equivalents. Following is an example that

illustrates how you can use the table:

Example. For milk, the nutrient profile covers a

1-cup serving (see page 20, table 9). Letπs say you

use 2 tablespoons of milk in your coffee. In table 1,

you see that 1 cup equals 16 tablespoons, so the

2 tablespoons you consume are two-sixteenths or

one-eighth of 1 cup. To find out the nutritive value

of the amount you actually consumeã2

tablespoonsãyou need to divide the nutrient values

listed for milk by 8.

Volume

1 gallon (3.786 liters; 3,786 ml) 4 quarts

1 quart (0.946 liter; 946 ml) 4 cups or 2 pints

1 cup (237 ml) 8 fluid ounces, Z\x pint, or

16 tablespoons

2 tablespoons (30 ml) 1 fluid ounce

1 tablespoon (15 ml) 3 teaspoons

1 pint 2 cups

Weight

1 pound (16 ounces) 453.6 grams

1 ounce 28.35 grams

3Z\x ounces 100 grams

SOURCES OF FOOD COMPOSITION:

USDA ≥Nutritive Value of Foods≤ Copies in Chafee 132 This is also available online www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/cgi-bin/nut_search.pl

There is an interactive website for food composition without animal protein: nutrition.about.com/library/foodfind

 

 

 

 

 

Table 2. Tips for Estimating Amount of

Food Consumed

This table lists some handy tips to help you

estimate the amount of food you eat when you

cannot measure or weigh it.

Breads and grains

Z\x cup cooked cereal, pasta, rice volume of cupcake wrapper or half a baseball

4-oz bagel (large) diameter of a compact disc (CD)

medium piece of cornbread medium bar of soap

Fruits and vegetables

medium apple, orange, peach tennis ball

Z\v cup dried fruit golf ball or scant handful for average adult

Z\x cup fruit or vegetable half a baseball

1 cup broccoli light bulb

medium potato computer mouse

1 cup raw leafy greens baseball or fist of average adult

Z\x cup 6 asparagus spears, 7 or 8 baby carrots or

carrot sticks, or a medium ear of corn

Meat, fish, and poultry, cooked

1 oz about 3 tbsp meat or poultry

2 oz small chicken drumstick or thigh

3 oz average deck of cards, palm of average

adultπs hand, half of a whole, small chicken

breast, medium pork chop

Cheese

1 oz hard cheese average personπs thumb, 2 dominoes, 4 dice

Other

2 tbsp peanut butter Ping-Pong ball

Z\c cup nuts level handful for average adult

Z\x cup half a baseball or base of computer mouse

1 cup tennis ball or fist of average adult

Note: The serving size indicated in the Food Guide Pyramid and on food labels is a

standardized unit of measure and may not represent the portion of food a person actually

eats on one occasion.

Sources: Schuster (1997), American Institute of Cancer Research (2001).

 

DAY 1. Date: Tuesday 2/11th ENERGY INTAKE BEGININNG WEIGHT (kg)_______

FOOD EATEN

AMT EATEN

PROTEIN FAT CARBS

TOTAL

TIME

(grams)

CALORIES

2 PM

3 PM

4 PM

5 PM

6 PM

7 PM

8 PM

9 PM

10 PM

11 PM

12 AM