In small groups of 5, you will meet Rhae Lynn Barnes and Chayet at at 13 rue Clignancourt for an introduction to Dutch and African textiles in Paris, African designers involved in startups and Paris Fashion week like Maison Cheatu Rouge, the internationally famous Sape & Co, Sawa shoes, and contemporary African immigration. Group 1 will meet at 10:30AM on Friday May 25, 2018. Group 2 will meet at 2PM on Friday May 25, 2018. Group 3 will meet on Saturday May 26, 2018 at 10:30AM.
Readings
- Bruggeman, Danielle. “Vlisco: Made in Holland, adorned in West Africa, (re)appropriated as Dutch design.” Fashion, Style, & Popular Culture 4, no. 2 (2017): 197.
Blog Assignment #1: An African Parisian Food Adventure
Your first assignment is to try African cuisine in Paris and review it. This could be in the form of going to a sit-down restaurant with friends like O Petit Club Africain, Aux Portes De L’Orient, A-Box, Le Waly Fay, Djembe, African Lounge, a pop-up, the New Soul Food truck (www.newsoulfood.fr), the Black Spoon food truck, finding a food cart, a snack shop like La Kaz or buying a single product at Togo Exotique in the 18th district at 6 rue Dejean, 75018 in Chateu-Rouge for as cheap as a 1 Euro. Products you might find at a grocery store include the wildly popular Moriba, the jams of chef Loic Dable, or Biss products.
Your job tonight is to be a food critic. Focus on taste, texture, ambiance, smell, sensation, packaging, and presentation. You are practicing persuasive, detailed, and descriptive writing while engaging in local culture so be as thoughtful as possible.
To write a restaurant review, focus on answering these questions and thinking through these topics:
Food
- The quality of food may be judged on the ingredients, preparation and presentation. Make sure to notice beverage selections.
- Authenticity: Have recipes have been modified to fit the taste of the local region? Ask.
Service
- Service involves how you are treated during your dining experience. Were people polite to you? Did you have to wait long for your order? Was your order prepared correctly?
- Does the staff speak English?
Atmosphere
- The atmosphere or ambiance is the general mood of the place; it includes lighting, furniture, colors and decorations.
- When evaluating atmosphere, consider the context and judge it fairly. (If, for example, you are in a sports bar
on game day, it would be inappropriate to criticize it for having a noisy atmosphere.) - When writing about the atmosphere of a restaurant, also consider its history and location. Consider whether it is part of a chain, or local, and how the décor reflects this.
Price & Hours
- How much did your experience cost? What are their hours?
Recommendation
- Do you suggest others try this product or place? What did you especially enjoy?
Photography
Be sure to photograph your food and your overall experience
Blog Post Assignment #2: Frederick Douglass & William Wells Brown
Free write: Look at the digital map created by Hannah Murray at the University of Nottingham plotting Frederick Douglass and fellow abolitionists in the United Kingdom (Great Britain and Ireland). What do you notice about this database and map? What patterns do you see? How does this map illuminate or counter the migration and travel experience of William Wells Brown and Frederick Douglass in your readings? What conclusions can you draw from this database and map in relation to our readings this week? How does your understanding of the role of internationalism in the American cause for abolitionism change?