This assignment requires students to use the ideas from our readings to develop a research project on a specific issue related to ethnic restaurants and food in the U.S. Unlike Assignment #1, in which you evaluated someone else's argument, your purpose in Assignment #2 is to devise your own argument about your chosen topic and support it, using both course readings and research sources. In your essay, you should formulate a clear and focused thesis and provide a detailed account of your evidence. Because of the limited required length of the assignment, you should use the most compelling points and evidence to support your argument and avoid superficial coverage of topics. In presenting your argument, you must cite directly a minimum of four (4) sources, no more than two of which could be course readings. Topics are listed below.
In order to complete the assignment, you will need to identify an area of interest and then research the topic to develop a research proposal. The aim of the research proposal is to initiate the research process and to provide you with an opportunity to collaborate with classmates on their projects, since these proposals will be discussed and shared in class. The research proposal is a one-page description of your research project. This proposal must include a working thesis or position you intend to argue in your paper. Please note that this will be a "working" thesis, since your ideas will likely develop and, perhaps, change as you further research your topic. The proposal must also include your major points and a brief description of three sources you might use in your paper, one of which should be scholarly in nature. As with your thesis, your choice of sources may change, and it is acceptable for you to use different sources in the final draft from the ones in your research proposal. The due date for the research proposal is on the class schedule.
Once your proposal is approved, your research process will involve reading, thinking, taking notes, and exploring the databases and our readings to figure out what you want to write. As you continue writing, you will very likely go back into the research process again to get new ideas or to find additional sources. Sometimes your argument shifts or changes as you find new sources, and this is a good sign that you are going throughthe research-based writing process correctly. Don't be afraid to change direction in writing the first draft-you can always improve or clarify your draft in your revision process.
Topics:
1. Diasporas attempt to recreate their homeland cultures in their host countries, but what they recreate is not necessarily authentic. The lack of authenticity can be detected in some of the foods served in ethnic restaurants. In their article "The Presentation of Ethnic Authenticity: Chinese Food as a Social Accomplishment," Shun Lu and Gary Alan Fine argue that food in ethnic restaurants in the U.S., particularly Chinese food, has to become more or less "inauthentic" because of "social, cultural, and economic constraints of the market" (540). In other words, they claim that ethnic foods need to be adapted to be marketable in a host country. Specifically, they discuss different eating habits and beliefs, as well as different tastes and cost efficiency, as reasons for transforming authentic ethnic dishes so that they are acceptable to American consumers. This modification takes various forms ranging from menu items and ingredients to spices, condiments, and cooking processes to serving styles and speed (Lu and Fine 540-43).
Write an essay in which you develop an argument about the lack of authenticity of your chosen ethnic food in the U.S in light of the inauthenticity/adaptation of American fast food in its overseas branches (e.g., McDonald's). To complete your essay successfully, consider the following questions: (1) Why do the ethnic restaurants present food that is not considered authentic by actual natives of the culture? In other words, what are the constraints? (2) What forms of alteration do they take (i.e., what do they change)? (3) How can these be related to the adaptation of American fast food abroad? (4) Is it possible that the ethnic food can lose its ethnicity in its process of adaptation?
2. "Latino food is tainted as low class," while Indian "cuisine is widely available and admired" because "nearly 60% of Indian immigrants are professionals," says Krishnendu Ray, professor of liberal arts at the Culinary Institute of America and author (qtd. in Andrews). In his explanation of the enticement of Indian food as opposed to the lack of allure of Mexican food in the U.S., Ray argues that "the socioeconomic background of immigrants from a particular country plays a role in the eagerness with which America embraces their food" (qtd. in Andrews). Controversial as his claim is, it can be one of the many reasons why certain ethnic foods have achieved popularity in America, while others have not.
Write an essay in which you develop an argument about the success of a particular ethnic food in the U.S. in light of the success of American fast food overseas. Some of the questions to consider include the following: (1) What aspects of the ethnic food make it appealing to many Americans, including other ethnic groups? (2) Is its popularity due to the image of its country of origin? If so, what image is associated with the food? (3) Does the socioeconomic status of its immigrants in the U.S have any effects on its popularity? (4) Can any of the reasons be related to the success of American fast food in the rest of the world?