Rooted in Agriculture Essay Assignment
I. Overview of Assignment This assignment is worth 100 points. DRAFT DUE IN-CLASS April 11, 2022
Rural Sociologists often specialize in studying the Agriculture/Food Apparatus and how farmers navigate within
it, with each other, their communities, and customers. Their research has become critical as agriculture has
changed rapidly over the last 50 years due to technology, changes in consumer preferences, concerns over
climate change, and the current Covid-19 Pandemic.
For this assignment, you should describe, explain, and interpret the information you learned from the
“Harford County: Rooted in Agriculture” film, which you will access on YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jbQvN72ylo
Your goals in writing this analytic essay are to let me know that (1) you viewed the film on YouTube and (2)
you can apply the information you learned in this course to the information you learned about our local
Agricultural/Food Apparatus.
For this essay paper, use the information you learned in the Rooted in Agriculture to:
Discuss and analyze how Harford County’s Agriculture/Food Apparatus, including farmers and local
government, lead nationally in innovative strategies that mitigate climate change and provide healthy
food to the local population.
1. Your essay should double spaced, typed, and 3-4 pages plus a Works Cited page.
2. Use a structural-functional perspective and state this in your thesis.
3. Use five examples/quotes from at least four sessions (presenters) in the Video.
4. In addition to the information you learned in the Symposium Video, use at least two
additional resources.
5. Include and bold in your paper at least five of the following terms. You may use other
additional terms not listed below.
agricultural/food apparatus
nutrition/health apparatus
political apparatus
social problem
historical perspective
sustainable agriculture
carbon sequestration
community organization(s)
technical expert language
economic apparatus
norms of behavior
permaculture
organization
values
community
climate change
power
agri-busines
II. Steps for Completing this Assignment:
1. Watch Harford County: Rooted in Agriculture on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=0jbQvN72ylo
2. Take notes (and quotes) from the various sessions to use for your paper that relate to the topic I asked you
to write about.
3. Research additional information about agricultural production and climate change using HCC Library’s Data
Bases, Homegrown Harford magazine, and web sites.
4. Write an outline of your ideas for your paper.
5. Write a draft.
6. Refine your thesis and rewrite a second draft.
7. Have a classmate review your second draft and give you suggestions on how to improve it.
8. Type your final paper making sure you underline your thesis and bold your sociological terms
