Category Archives: hist 102 (Fall 2010)

Test 1 Results

The most popular terms were Columbian Exchange, Atlantic Slave Trade and Oluadah Equiano.  The high score in the class was 36.5 out of a possible 40, not counting extra credit — pretty good for the first test. The median score was between C+ and B-, meaning that at least half the class got a B- or above and half the class got a C+ or lower. Here’s how the grade scale worked out:

Grade minimum points distribution
A+ 36.5
A 34.5 12%
A- 32.9
B+ 29.9
B 26.75 38%
B- 23.75
C+ 20.75
C 17.6 38%
C- 14.6
D+ 11.6
D 8.5 12%
D- 5.5
F 0 0

When looking at your papers, you can ignore the little diagonal I put in the upper-left and lower-right corners of pages: that’s a note to me that there’s nothing before or after (respectively) that page which isn’t graded (just keeps me from having to flip more pages than necessary). If I underlined or circled something in one of your answers, though, it almost certainly means something you got wrong. “X” always marks an error. If I put an “approximately” sign in the margin (and I do this on essays, too) — it looks like this: ≈ — that means something which is almost right, or nearly wrong; questionable, in other words.

Comments about Next Week’s Eating History Presentations

A few notes about the Eating History chapter presentations next week:

  • With thirty chapters (and more than thirty presenters), I’ll be keeping a strict 3-minute limit, and warning you when you get to the 2-minute mark.
  • Presentations will be in order of the chapters: be ready when it’s your turn!
  • Don’t just read your summary (which is due Friday, by the way): good presentation is about talking to your audience.
  • Practice: short time means you have to get to the point, get through the interesting details, and be done efficiently. Without focus and rehearsal, you won’t know how fast to move, what to cut out, or what you can put in.
  • Don’t stress: the presentation isn’t graded (though doing it is a significant component of the project grade)
  • The goal is to share enough information that everyone gets the benefit of reading the entire book. Without, obviously, reading the entire book.

Update: I realized that I misspoke in class. The presentations are Monday and Wednesday next week.

Section Three (10am) Eating History Chapter Selection

The time has come to pick your chapter for the Eating History project. Indicate your selection by leaving a comment on this post (you do not need to register with edublogs in order to comment, but you do need to put your name on it, so I know) indicating which chapter you want. First come, first served, and no duplicates, so you might want to have several possibilities in mind. After the selections are made, I will make copies of the chapters available, though you are always welcome to purchase the book from other sources.

If you are in the 2pm section (Section Four), then go to this post to make your selection.

Eating History Chapter list (with clarifications)

  1. Oliver Evans’s Automated Mill (mechanical flour milling) Jaeger
  2. The Erie Canal (transportation) Kutz
  3. Delmonico’s (French cuisine) Brush
  4. Sylvester Graham’s Reforms (health food) Harding
  5. Cyrus McCormick’s Reaper (agricultural mechanization) Gomez
  6. A Multiethnic Smorgasbord (immigration) Jegen
  7. Giving Thanks (Thanksgiving Holiday) Carter
  8. Gail Borden’s Canned Milk (canning) Eichelberger
  9. The Homogenizing War (Civil War) Griffin
  10. The Transcontinental Railroad (refrigeration) Sammur
  11. Fair Food (1876 & 1893 World Fairs) Tarvin
  12. Henry Crowell’s Quaker Special (packaging and marketing) N. Nicholson
  13. Wilbur O. Atwater’s Calorimeter (nutrition science) Hendrix
  14. The Cracker Jack Snack (snacks and candy) Patterson
  15. Fannie Farmer’s Cookbook (standardization) New
  16. The Kellogg’s Corn Flakes (breakfast cereals) Lake
  17. Upton Sinclair’s Jungle (food safety) Thornton
  18. Frozen Seafood and TV Dinners Green
  19. Michael Cullen’s Super Market Schrankler
  20. Earle MacAusland’s Gourmet (food magazines) Sugita
  21. Jerome I. Rodale’s Organic Gardening Davis
  22. Percy Spencer’s Radar (microwave ovens) Lednicky
  23. Frances Roth and Katherine Angell’s CIA (Culinary Institute of America) Wade
  24. McDonald’s Drive-In (fast food) Streeter
  25. Julia Child, the French Chef (television and cuisine) Rousseau & Walker
  26. Jean Nidetch’s Diet (Weight Watchers) Frogley & Baldwin
  27. Alice Water’s Chez Panisse (local food) Tridle
  28. TVFN (cable food network) Mance
  29. The Flavr Savr (genetically modified foods)
  30. Mergers, Acquisitions, and Spin-Offs (food industry) W. Smith

Section Four (2pm) Eating History Chapter Selection

The time has come to pick your chapter for the Eating History project. Indicate your selection by leaving a comment on this post (you do not need to register with edublogs in order to comment, but you do need to put your name on it, so I know) indicating which chapter you want. First come, first served, and no duplicates, so you might want to have several possibilities in mind. After the selections are made, I will make copies of the chapters available, though you are always welcome to purchase the book from other sources.

If you are in the 10am section (Section Three), then go to this post to make your selection.

Eating History Chapter list (with clarifications)

  1. Oliver Evans’s Automated Mill (mechanical flour milling) Curry
  2. The Erie Canal (transportation) DeWeese
  3. Delmonico’s (French cuisine) Carr
  4. Sylvester Graham’s Reforms (health food) Kempton
  5. Cyrus McCormick’s Reaper (agricultural mechanization) Stapleton
  6. A Multiethnic Smorgasbord (immigration) Butler
  7. Giving Thanks (Thanksgiving Holiday) Lewis
  8. Gail Borden’s Canned Milk (canning) Blessent
  9. The Homogenizing War (Civil War) Pulliam & Prince
  10. Transcontinental Railroad (refrigeration) Stillings
  11. Fair Food (1876 & 1893 World Fairs) Carlson
  12. Henry Crowell’s Quaker Special (packaging and marketing) Gardner
  13. Wilbur O. Atwater’s Calorimeter (nutrition science) Herder
  14. The Cracker Jack Snack (snacks and candy) Elliot
  15. Fannie Farmer’s Cookbook (standardization) LeTourneu
  16. The Kellogg’s Corn Flakes (breakfast cereals) Boyd
  17. Upton Sinclair’s Jungle (food safety) Gregory
  18. Frozen Seafood and TV Dinners Bibbs
  19. Michael Cullen’s Super Market Engledow
  20. Earle MacAusland’s Gourmet (food magazines) Bass
  21. Jerome I. Rodale’s Organic Gardening DeBoutez
  22. Percy Spencer’s Radar (microwave ovens) Fyock
  23. Frances Roth and Katherine Angell’s CIA (Culinary Institute of America) Wade
  24. McDonald’s Drive-In (fast food) Babcock
  25. Julia Child, the French Chef (television and cuisine) Pierce
  26. Jean Nidetch’s Diet (Weight Watchers) Smithson
  27. Alice Water’s Chez Panisse (local food)
  28. TVFN (cable food network) Stolifer
  29. The Flavr Savr (genetically modified foods) Bullard
  30. Mergers, Acquisitions, and Spin-Offs (food industry) Starr

Reminder: Pop Quiz Wednesday

As we discussed on Monday, we’ll have a pop quiz — really, just a dry run on a pop quiz — on Wednesday, which will be based on the study terms for Hansen&Curtis Chapter 16. Just bring paper and something to write with – which you really should have for notetaking, anyway – and you’ll get a chance to see what the tests are going to be like.

Extra Credit Opportunity: Solo and Chamber Music Series

The Dept. of Music’s Solo and Chamber Music Series performances are free to PSU students with ID. There are three events this semester, any and all of which would be acceptable for Extra Credit, all of them at McCray Music Hall at 7:30pm:

  • Sept. 10: Trio Fedele (Piano, Cello, Flute), classical to contemporary
  • Oct. 8: Heinavanker (Estonian a cappella), Renaissance/Folk
  • Oct. 29: ETHEL (string quartet), contemporary and recent classical

For more information, contact the Department of Music (235-4466)