Food System Problems and Food Sovereignty Solutions Research Project
The research project is divided into several papers and research updates. In total, you will write sixteen pages on a food system topic of your choice. Pick a particular sociological problem in the food system, sociologically analyze how and why this problem exists, and investigate how food sovereignty movements develop and implement solutions.
You need to analyze how structures operate to create the problem (e.g. tied to capitalism, neoliberalism, colonialism, institutionalized racism, etc.). You will also evaluate the economic, political, and social dimensions of food sovereignty responses. You should come away from studying your topic with stronger research, writing, and critical analysis skills as well as a sense of how others and possibly you can contribute to food sovereignty.
Use at least 10 academic sources, with a minimum of five for part 2 and 3 respectively (e.g. book from a university press or peer reviewed journal article). For sociological sources, you can use the database Sociological Abstracts. Do not simply rely on Wikipedia or the internet to write this paper. If relevant, use news accounts to supplement your research. While you can use required readings from this course as sources, they will not count towards your total. If you are unsure about a source, please ask.
There are three major parts of this project.
1). Write a one-page proposal of what you would like to research. Keep in mind the project requirements when drafting your proposal. Address the following:
A) The problem in the food system you would like to study and why.
B) The kinds of food sovereignty activism and organizing responding to the problem and how it directly relates.
You should meet with me or the TA once during office hours before you write the proposal. This will allow us to brainstorm together and help focus the direction of the project. You will not get credit for the proposal otherwise (20 points). Due 9/22.
2). Develop a seven-page analysis of a problem in the food system drawing from your research of academic literature and media.
A) Briefly introduce the problem and its significance.
B) Write four pages explaining the food system problem in sociological detail. Reconstruct how the problem came about, who experiences this as a problem, and why this is a problem worthy of public attention.
Discuss the following:
- The economic forces contributing to the problem (e.g. capitalist profit motives, corporate power, etc.).
- The political forces contributing to the problem (e.g. policies, laws, lobbying, etc.).
- The social and/or cultural forces contributing to the problem (e.g. patriarchy, racism, neoliberal ideology, etc.).
- Who experiences this problem the most? Why?
In brief, explain the structural conditions driving the problem at a macro level and who is most impacted at a micro level.
C) Write a three-page media analysis on the food system problem. Find six media sources covering your topic. Include reference list.
- Choose three sources from different major newspapers (New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, The Guardian, etc.). Stick with respected media sources. Talk to the GTA or me if you are unsure or want to use a source that is unusual.
- How does the major newspaper present the problem? Whose perspectives are presented? Is it supportive, oppositional, neutral? How so?
- Choose three more sources from alternative/specialist media outlets (CivilEats, Grist, Huffington Post, New Food Economy, Vice, Common Dreams, etc.).
- How does this alternative/specialist coverage present the problem? Whose perspectives are presented? Is it supportive, oppositional, neutral? How so? How does this compare to the major newspaper coverage?
- Why does this media landscape matter for the people involved (e.g. those causing, experiencing, and trying to solve the food system problem, etc.)? How so?
D) Include a list of references. This does not count toward total page count (70 points). Due 10/20.
3). Write a six-page analysis of food sovereignty movement strategies and solutions to the food system problem that you have been studying. Draw on theoretical and empirical analysis from readings, lectures, and your own research. Focus on how people mobilize for change, whether and to what degree this is addressing the food system problem, and make an argument for the kinds of social relations that would be socially just.
A) Answer the following:
- What do activists and organizers think about the food system problem experienced by certain people? Draw from direct activist sources (e.g. organization websites) or news accounts of activism where activist voices are presented.
- What discourses and normative frameworks do activists and organizers use (e.g. anti-capitalist, fair trade, abolition, etc.)? Why?
- What strategies and tactics do activists and organizers use? Why?
- How does social position (e.g. race, class, gender) and position within the food system (e.g. farmer, grocery retail clerk, chef, eater, soil scientist, breastfeeding mother, etc.) influence the interpretation of how to solve the food system problem?
Go for depth over breadth when necessary, but make a clear argument for why you structure your discussion of food sovereignty movements in a particular way. Draw on theoretical frameworks that support your argument (e.g. political economy, feminist theory, intersectionality, etc.). Include relevant concepts and ideas.
B) What changes have people brought about? Please be concrete. Do the strategies prefigure the solution, confront institutional and elite power, or both? Why? What are the major strengths and limitations of these efforts?
C) Where do you see this movement going in the near to mid-term? Why?
D) Include a list of references. This does not count toward total page count.
(70 points). Due 12/8.
- Twice this semester you will write a brief research update to share and get feedback in class from peers and the professor.
- Write a one-and-a-half-page research update related to the food system problem that you are studying. What kind of academic literature are you starting to find on the topic? What kind of other information are you starting to find on the topic? What kind of media are you starting to find on the topic? What are you starting to learn as a result of this initial research? To what degree is what you are finding helping you to answer the prompts for this paper? Turn in online and bring to class. (20 points) Due 10/10
- Write a one-and-a-half-page research update related to the food sovereignty movement that you are studying. What kind of academic literature are you starting to find on the topic? What kind of other information are you starting to find on the topic? Explain what you are starting to learn because of reading the literature. To what degree is what you are finding helping you to answer the prompts for this paper? Turn in online and bring to class. (20 points) Due 11/14