Assignment #3
GEO 2000G – Food & Agriculture
Summer 2019
The Other Inconvenient Truth
TEDx talk by Dr. Jonathan Foley
Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJhgGDRA6Hk
Part of being an informed citizen is to be able to read, watch, or listen about an issue, absorb the content delivered, consider what was said, and then consider what the content means to you personally. Listening, thinking, and making informed decisions are talents that everyone needs to be a functioning global citizen. Too often we get stuck in echo-chambers where everyone we socialize with, who we listen to in the media, and who we “trust” are people who hold the exact beliefs that we do. Something is said, and you believe it wholeheartedly without the slightest urge to question what was actually said. We learn ABSOLUTELY NOTHING from this type of existence. We need to interact with people and ideas that we might not agree with, that might make us uncomfortable, or that actually might force us to think.
Instructions
Complete the following steps and upload your finished document back to the assignment DropBox in D2L.
1. Watch the YouTube video entitled The Other Inconvenient Truth given by Dr. Jonathan Foley; it’s about 18-minutes in length.
2. Using your preferred word processing software (e.g. Microsoft Word) write a >/=500-word summary of the
18-minute video.
a. To summarize the video, you’ll likely need to watch it a few times. Take notes while you’re watching
it; this will make summarizing it afterward much easier as you won’t have to go back through the
video to try to find some specific part of the content that you remembered and wanted to include.
You can then take those notes/bullet-points and arrange them into cogent thoughts, sentences, and
paragraphs.
b. The summary you write should be using your own words – not those of Dr. Foley (unless, of course,
you’re citing some very specific point he made).
3. After you have written your 500-word summary, in the same document write a >/=250-word “critique” of
what you just summarized. Think of the critique as you explaining to a friend of yours why they should listen
to a particular song or see a new movie that’s out… you’re trying to highlight what you liked about it, didn’t
like about it, or maybe a little bit of both. Describe what you learned, how the content was/wasn’t impactful,
how it made you think about the topic in a new or different way. Say whatever you’d like; this is where I
want you to THINK about what you learned from the 18-minute video and explain it to others.
4. When you’re done, you should have a >/= 750-word document. Upload your final product the D2L Dropbox
for this assignment. You may use this writing assignment for an EWP submission, but only if you DID NOT
submit assignment #2 as an EWP submission. I only allow one (1) submission per course from each student.
