BACKGROUND: The purpose of this assignment is to give you hands-on experience in conducting participant-observation in a cultural context. Additionally, this assignment will allow you to gather and interpret your own data on food and culture in the same way that a cultural anthropologist would do. You will select a public space that focuses on food (e.g. grocery store, restaurant, farmers' market) in which you can conduct observations and participate as much as is appropriate and possible. You will document your observations and experiences. After the participant-observation is complete, you will expand, reflect on, and analyze your initial notes. Ideally, you should choose a place that is of a different cultural context than your own (e.g. an ethnic restaurant different from your own ethnicity) and where you have not been before. It will be easier to take notes on things that are new to you than something you see every day.  Possible places to conduct your observations include: an ethnic food market, a public religious meal, a farmers' market, an ethnic restaurant, or the food section of a street fair or carnival. You need to pick a place that will allow you to make observations and record notes of people eating, drinking, cooking, shopping for, or preparing food.Required ReadingsPelto, G.H. & Pelto, P (1983). Diet and delocalization: Dietary Changes Since 1750. In Dufour, D. L., Goodman, A. H., & Pelto, G. H. (Eds.) Nutritional Anthropology: Biocultural Perspectives on Food and Nutrition, (2012), 353-361. Oxford University Press.Yan, Y. (2013). Of hamburger and social space. In C. Counihan & P. Van Esterik (Eds.) Food and culture: a reader, 2, 449-471. Routledge.Caldwell, M. L. (2004). Domesticating the french fry: McDonald’s and Consumerism in Moscow. Journal of Consumer Culture, 4(1), 5-26.Bestor, T.C. (2005). How sushi went global. In Dufour, D. L., Goodman, A. H., & Pelto, G. H. (Eds.) Nutritional Anthropology: Biocultural Perspectives on Food and Nutrition, (2012), 367-371. Oxford University Press.Brewis, A. A., Wutich, A., Falletta-Cowden, A., & Rodriguez-Soto, I. (2011). Body norms and fat stigma in global perspective. Current Anthropology, 52(2), 269-276.YOU MUST USE IN TEXT CITATIONS FROM THESE READINGSYOU MUST FOLLOW ALL GIVEN DIRECTIONS, READ THEM!!!!!YOU MUST USE TEMPLATE & DIRECTIONS PROVIDED FOR YOUR ANSWERS.AGAIN, FOLLOW ALL DIRECTIONS!!!asb300_assignment2template_dec_2015_students_1_.docx

Unit 2 Discussion Board AssignmentThroughout history, commercial and economic concerns have tremendously influenced the development of culture and politics in countries throughout the world. Analyze how cultural and political developments of the United States were similarly influenced by the listed economic and commercial concerns.Since America’s independence, vast differences have developed from region to region. Consider how the historical antebellum developments of the more urban and commercial North and the more rural and agricultural South led to differences in the culture, political parties, and ethnic and racial perspectives of the two regions and eventually gave way to the American Civil War. Historians have long debated the causes of the American Civil War and have generally agreed these causes to be rooted in political, economic, and social differences. Use the following outline to format your response:Paragraph 1How did historical regional differences affect the development of political structures in the United States?What examples do you see in current times of how these events affected the U.S. development of culture and society? Paragraph 2Describe 2 fundamental reasons why the American Civil War occurred.Given the circumstances of the conflict, explain whether or not the war could (or should) have been avoided.