Peer Review

24.03 Good Food: The Ethics and Politics of Food Choices (MIT)

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Apr 11, 2020 by Sociology

Bookmark

Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:

This course explores the values (aesthetic, moral, cultural, religious, political) expressed in the choices of food people eat. It analyzes the decisions individuals make about what to eat, how society should manage food production and consumption collectively, and how reflection on food choices might help resolve conflicts between different values.

Type of Material:

Online open education resource course
Learning object repository
Reference material

Recommended Uses:

In-class
Homework
Individual assignment
Team assignment
Lecture

Technical Requirements:

Internet Explorer or applicable browser
Adobe Acrobat Reader (PDF files)
Flash player (for some video links)

Identify Major Learning Goals:

The student will be able to:

identify moral and political issues and interpret arguments relevant to food choices and policies.
gather and evaluate information relevant to food choices and policies.
become familiar with normative frameworks for making and applying moral decisions to food choices and policies.
develop a moral perspective on personal food choices.
communicate information and engage in moral discussions about controversial topics.

Target Student Population:

Lower and upper division students. College General Ed.

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

Basic computer operations
Introduction to social research and demography
Introduction to U.S. and global stratification and inequality

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:: The course includes a syllabus, lecture notes, assignment instructions, and reading lists. Overall, there is enough material here that someone could use it to adapt it to their own student population. Course is well organized with lecture notes and readings to support knowledge acquisition and learning.
Concerns:: The course does not contain interactive materials or a variety of learning materials for independent or self-study. The instructor would need more background knowledge on the topic to be able to successfully realize the potential of the resources available on this website.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:: The syllabus suggests a structure, a list of topics, and a list of readings that may be useful to professors designing a similar course. The lecture notes suggest ideas for class activities. The material is well-organized and thorough (assignments, syllabus, reading list).
Concerns:: Data and information from the course may require additional research or materials such as audio/visual aids to reinforce sociological concepts and theoretical perspectives to meet learning objectives and outcomes.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:

Strengths:

The website includes a diverse set of material in order to learn the subject, but also teach the subject. The website is easy to navigate and the user can download all the content at once.

Concerns:

Materials are not catalogued or searchable by key words or concepts
No glossary or list of terminology for reference or study

Other Issues and Comments:: Effective open education resource for social science, animal science, and nutrition courses.
Creative Commons: