English 143N

Prose Nonfiction: Food Writing

Book List

Gilbert, Sandra M.: Eating Words: A Norton Anthology of Food Writing

Description

This is a creative nonfiction writing workshop focused on the topic of food.  Food writing encompasses more than snooty restaurant reviews or poetic descriptions of the taste of wine, coffee, and chocolate.  Food writing can include memoir, cultural critique, and scientific explication.  Topics writers might pursue include but are not limited to: food traditions, food taboos, food trends, fast food, slow food, junk food, fad diets, eating disorders, food as medicine, food production, agribusiness, organic and sustainable farming and  fishery, migrant farm labor, restaurant work, food science, bioengineering of food, food deserts, hunger, etc.

Students will read examples of food writing from the assigned anthology and other sources.  They will also read and discuss their classmates’ work.  Written assignments will include 3 short exercises (approximately 2 pages each) and 2 full-length essays (approximately 8-20 pages), plus formal critiques of classmates’ work.

To read about when and where the results of the applications will be posted, click here.

Only continuing UC Berkeley students are eligible to apply for this course.  To be considered for admission, please electronically submit 5-8 pages of your writing (which need not be food-related but should not be academic writing, fiction, or poetry), by clicking on the link below; fill out the application you'll find there and attach the writing sample as a Word document or .rtf file.  The deadline for completing this application process is 11 PM, THURSDAY, APRIL 25.

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