Augusta University Nutrition and Food Security Interdisciplinary Study Analysis

Description

Why am I asking you to do this assignment?

 This assignment requires you to integrate concepts, insights, and skills developed throughout this course. 

This is part 1 of a major assignment that is meant to replace a final exam. 

It is therefore worth a substantial portion of your final grade, and as per the syllabus, it must exceed expectations in order to receive an A. 

I will be grading this strictly, and as a replacement for a final exam, I am expecting high-caliber work. 

I recommend that you start early and edit numerous times prior to submission. 

This assignment (Part 1) will demonstrate fundamental interdisciplinary skills: perspective-taking and critical thinking. 

The Synthesis Assignment Part 2 will demonstrate the third fundamental interdisciplinary skill of integration. 

Each of these skills requires empathy, open-mindedness, and intellectual courage to put together different points of view, examine from multiple perspectives, and challenge norms. 

What to Do

Again, I caution you that this is a big assignment, requires lots of careful attention, and should be started early.

Step 1: Become familiar with the interdisciplinary creative process. 

The process here loosely reflects the Broad Model approach to interdisciplinarity as explained in Chapter 10 of your textbook. 

I have altered it slightly to make it more applicable to addressing complex problems in real-life contexts rather than focusing solely on formal research. 

Step 2: Choose an article relating to a current news story. From that article, identify a relevant complex issue.

Step 3: In a minimum of 3 well-constructed and thorough paragraphs, identify the issue and why it’s important.

In this portion of the assignment, this is where you will answer the “so what?” 

question. The answer may be to solve a problem, to learn more about an important issue, or to simply explore the topic because it is inspirational or motivational. 

You can add a personal touch to this portion if you’d like. 

Examples and stories are always helpful.

Step 4: List at least 10 variables, and provide 2-3 sentences for each explaining how the variable impacts and/or is impacted by the main issue.

In this section, you want to identify as many aspects of this issue that you can think of. We might call these variables.

 For example, in the parking issue, the variables included: enough spaces, public transit, belief systems (identity of having a vehicle being associated independence and status), large campus, and so on and so forth. 

The point is to identify as many variables as you can (kind of like brainstorming) and explain how they are connected to the main or overall issue.

Formatting example:

1. Parking Spaces: each year more passes than spaces available are sold.

 This creates competition for parking spaces which can make it more difficult for students to manage their time and could create unnecessary tension between students.

Step 5:  Create a concept map (Links to an external site.) outlining the main issue in the relationship between the variables. I recommend using graphic functions in Word or Google Drawing. 

Step 6:  In a minimum of 3 well-constructed and thorough paragraphs, identify which disciplinary lenses might be important. 

You can refer to your textbook to identify and discuss relevant disciplines. Ideally, you can refer to your own areas of study and the disciplines that they entail.

Step 7: Gather informal sources:

1. Stakeholders: identify, speak with, record, and summarize your interview with 2 people related to your topic.

 You must get explicit on the record permission to record anyone. 

You can interview fellow students either in this class or another. 

Friends or family members are also fine. You must include proof of interview. Screen shot of text, email, or snippet of audio is fine.

2. Select two websites: cite and summarize each.

3. Personal Experience: provide 2 examples/stories from your life or someone else’s that provides insight into this issue.  

Informal sources are not to be used as evidence or factual support. Informal sources are resources for understanding more broadly how different people view the issue.

 Gathering lots of different perspectives provides you with lots of ways to think about issues, and thus it provides resources that you can draw on when it comes time to think of new and innovative ways to address a complex problem.

 The more diverse the selection, the richer the resources.

Step 8: Identify, summarize, and cite 2 formal sources of information (this means peer-reviewed academic research–journal articles or books.

 Use UCF Library resources to locate academic sources). You must use APA or MLA formatting. Failure to properly cite work will result in a 5 point grade reduction.

Formal sources, such as peer-reviewed academic journal articles, research studies, academic books, and so for, can be used to support factual statements about your issue.

It is critical that these sources be of high quality. Google scholar is often a good resource, though the UCF library page has a good set of databases. 

Ask for help from the library if you have any uncertainty about this at all. 

You can also check with me IN ADVANCE of the due date if you are uncertain whether or not your sources are appropriate. 

Step 9: Provide a critical analysis of the sources and discuss how the multiple perspectives you’ve gathered might address the issue.

 As this is worth the most amount of the assignment, you should expect it to take a good 5-7 paragraphs (min 750 words).

 This is to be an analysis-not a report of the material. 

Evaluate, exemplify, and expand on the concepts and ideas gathered.

The unpacking is more of an objective picture of the issue. 

The critical analysis is more of a subjective inquiry into why those variables are there, how they’re connected, how they came about in the first place, and how they can be manipulated or changed.

 In this analysis, you need to question the assumptions and beliefs embedded in these variables, and ask why things cannot be different?

This is the most important step of the whole assignment. 

This is where I want to see an in-depth discussion of the topic from multiple points of view. 

Remember, challenge everything. It is not enough to ask why normal is not working….you MUST ask why normal is normal in the first place. 

Read between the lines, ask ‘crazy’ questions, and explore lots of ideas related to the topic.

The critical analysis is not a defense of your own point of view or personal beliefs.

 It is subjective, yes, but it’s an investigation that looks at the different points of view, particularly the contradicting points of view, and seeks out common ground.

 This is the key skill of an interdisciplinarian, and it requires critical and creative thinking, as we have discussed throughout this course.

Your analysis can pose ideas that seem absurd. Your analysis does not need to be practical.