Fall 2018 - SA 366 D100
Special Topics in Sociology (S) (4)
Class Number: 7815
Delivery Method: In Person
Overview
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Course Times + Location:
Sep 4 – Dec 3, 2018: Fri, 9:30 a.m.–1:20 p.m.
Burnaby
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Instructor:
Gerardo Otero
otero@sfu.ca
Office: AQ 6187A
Office Hours: FR 13:30-14:30
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Prerequisites:
SA 101 or 150 or 201W.
Description
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
Explores a topic in Sociology not regularly offered by the department.
COURSE DETAILS:
Capitalism is full of commodities, but perhaps none as intimate as food. Whether we are aware of it or not, food puts us in contact with a multiplicity of people and institutions, each inserted in a variety of social relations to produce, process, distribute and consume food. Given the wealth of relations generated around food, steeped in social inequality, this is becoming a booming theme in sociology and other social-science disciplines. One of the paradoxes of the contemporary food system is that it generates both hunger and obesity at the same time. Hunger is often blamed on insufficient food production, but given that enough food is produced for everyone, the root cause is in fact inequitable food distribution. Overweight and obesity, on the other hand, are blamed on people eating too much food; but this too could be primarily a result of inequality in that many can no longer access good quality food. Emphasis in this course will thus be placed on social structures of inequality, both within and between countries in a globalized world. These structures are key determinants of not only whether people have access to food, but also its amount and quality. One of the key driving forces of hunger is, paradoxically, the very technology that was developed purportedly to increase food production. The so-called “Green Revolution,” launched in the 1970s as an alleged solution to Third World hunger, resulted in further social and regional disparities in food availability… and increased hunger. Since the 1990s, many have argued that the “Gene Revolution” or biotechnology, specifically the genetic engineering of crops, now holds the contemporary technological solution to global hunger. Can this be true given the social structures of inequality?
Grading
- Discussion papers (5 x 5%) 25%
- Responses (5 x 2%) 10%
- Participation 15%
- Final essay outline 5%
- Presentation of essay draft 10%
- Final essay 35%
NOTES:
Grading: Where a final exam is scheduled and you do not write the exam or withdraw from the course before the deadline date, you will be assigned an N grade. Unless otherwise specified on the course outline, all other graded assignments in this course must be completed for a final grade other than N to be assigned.
Academic Dishonesty and Misconduct Policy: The Department of Sociology and Anthropology follows SFU policy in relation to grading practices, grade appeals (Policy T 20.01) and academic dishonesty and misconduct procedures (S10.01‐S10.04). Unless otherwise informed by your instructor in writing, in graded written assignments you must cite the sources you rely on and include a bibliography/list of references, following an instructor-approved citation style. It is the responsibility of students to inform themselves of the content of SFU policies available on the SFU website: http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student.html.
Materials
REQUIRED READING:
Holmes, S. M. (2013). Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies: Migrant Farmworkers in the United States. Berkeley: University of California Press.
ISBN: 978-0-520275140
Liberti, S. (2013). Land Grabbing: Journey in the New Colonialism. London: Verso Books.
ISBN: 978-1-781681176
Otero, G. (2018). The Neoliberal Diet: Healthy Profits, Unhealthy People. Austin: University of Texas Press.
ISBN: 978-1-477316986
Weis, T. (2013). The Ecological Hoofprint. London: Zed Books.
ISBN: 978-1-780320960
Winders, B. (2017). Grains. London and New York: Polity Press.
ISBN: 978-0-745688046
Registrar Notes:
SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://students.sfu.ca/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.
Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS