Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation (134-166)

The next three chapters of Fast Food Nation are, I think, the most important in the book, and the book has been one of the most important and influential works of investigative journalism in the last decade.

For Friday, you'll be reading two of those three chapters ("On the Range" and "Cogs in the Great Machine"). Please read them carefully and cite them in your dailies.

Statistics

Ok, so statistics are to be traced to their sources, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is one of the best sources out there.

Here are some CDC stats:

Obesity rates have doubled among children and tripled among adolescents since 1980.

In 2008, childhood obesity rates hit an historic 17% of children 2-19. That's just about 1 in 5 children. And that's a whole lot of children.

Feel free to post some more statistics from reliable sources here.

Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation (31-57)

Most of my classes dismiss Schlosser's concerns this chapter, arguing that they can resist advertising, so it's fine for companies to advertise in schools.

MAKING SURE TO CITE AND EXPLORE THE TEXT, what do you think?

For those of you who took 101 with me, you might even draw some analogies to *Feed* if you'd like.

Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation (1-10; 64-88)

Post away!

Poverty Conference Thoughts

Connect the conference with things we've read. Did it enlighten you in any new or different way about poverty? Reenforce what you already thought? Post away!

Jonathan Kozol, Savage Inequalities, (83-132); (206-219)

Post away!

Jonathan Kozol, Savage Inequalities, (40-82)

Post away!

Jonathan Kozol, Savage Inequalities (1-39)

Any connections between Savage Inequalities and "Omelas" or anything else we've read this semester?

Or post on what you'd like!

Ursula Le Guin, “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” (MR 370-375)

Relate this text to anything we've read this semester or last semester! Post away!

Wagoner, “The Author of American Ornithology Sketches a Bird, Now Extinct” (MR 392-393); Margaret Gibson, “One Body” (MR 472-473)

What are these poems saying about our relationship to animals? Draw connections to Columbus, Hanh, Alexander, and/or Endo.

Also: don't forget that you should have a thesis and a rough outline of ideas for your essay by Friday! Please bring hard copies of your outlines and thesis statements to class.

Shusaku Endo, Deep River (205-216)

Explore away!