Quinoa

Dr. Lisa Mitchell, Associate Professor of South Asia Studies, has guided her students to create voiceover videos as class assignments for a large undergraduate class (ANTH 063 / SAST 063 / HIST 087) in South Asia Studies. Her class focuses on how the desire to possess and consume commodities has shaped cultures. In addition to the commodities studied by the full class, each student researches a commodity for an individual presentation. Projects from the 2012 spring semester include some integration of video content in addition to stills. Students in all six sections of the course viewed the videos, and chose winners at the section and course levels. This video won 1st place in section. Elena uncovers the transition between quinoa as local food staple to global dietary phenomenon, positing that the shift in meaning and status has only hurt the consumers of quinoa's native South America. Elena uses the Ken Burns effect - panning over an image still - to give her video the feel of a documentary exposé. The video explores: Reasons behind the explosion in global popularity An exploration into the roots of quinoa production Health implications for those who can no longer afford quinoa View curriculum and materials for this course