Exploration of African Rice in Columbian Exchange
The activity of tracking food origins enables farmers and consumers to identify how a crop evolved and how it was established before cultivation across the world. Rice was among the food items that we can see was tracked by experts, documented, and helped to identify the cultivation process. Judith A. Carney published a research paper titled African Rice in the Columbian Exchange on the food by introducing African rice (Oryza glaberrima) along with the already known Asian rice (Oryza sativa). New Food and beverages such as Boba and sushi would not be argued as originating from a non-Asian country, therefore, it can be traced back to the origin. Tracking culture can be difficult due to the many alterations of preparation and how things are done. We can see this in the essay written by Carney. She used sources such as the National Research Council, Lost Crops of Africa (Washington 1996), Vaughan and Geissler’s Food Plants, A.S Salley ‘Introduction of Asian Rice into South Carolina to track African Rice to South Carolina.
Carney started expressed her thoughts on crops losing their roots through the Columbian Exchange. Sources such as the National Research Council, Lost Crops of
Africa, Vaughan and Geissler’s Food Plants, and A.S Salley ‘Introduction of Asian Rice into South Carolina were used to support the claim that many native crops of Africa diffused to nearby countries which are then cultivated. Namely okra, watermelon, and pigeon peas are some of the examples of crops that migrated from Africa to other countries, Therefore the idea of a plant has lost its roots because many would argue that watermelon is native to their country or region. Carney’s ways of using the sources are that she paraphrases the source into her own words so that it supports her claim and shows a beginning to each food item she talks about.
National Research Council, Lost Crops of Africa, Vaughan and Geissler’s Food
Plants and A.S Salley ‘Introduction of Asian Rice into South Carolina sources are classified as a secondary source due to the date they were published. Sources can be identified as secondary since the text was published years after the event occurred. The secondary is used to support primary sources in showing the effects of the event described in the primary source. Carney
used Vaughan and Geissler’s Food Plants source at more than three times to explain to origins and the names of each plant that was cultivated around the world. She also used the book Food plants to construct a table titled African Plant domesticates to show the region in which a crop was originally found, scientific names and names the crops are known by around the world. She also addresses the issue of Africans not getting the recognition they deserved for playing a role in the crops that is present in many individuals’ diets.
Judith Carney uses an excessive number of secondary sources for her research. The sources range from the late 1900s to the early 2000s. Since the author is researching the 15th and 16th century there are limited documents can be found on the matter.
Primary sources present in the research which help to create context and illuminate some biases that would’ve arisen. A research paper on a historical event with little to no primary can be biased and historically incorrect if there is nothing to support the claim.
Carney uses magazines, books, and articles as a tool to support her arguments. The articles Carney chooses to use presents a sense of validation because it shows geography and historical accuracy. Vaughn and C.A. Geissler, The New Oxford Book of Food Plants (Oxford 1999) is an example of the type of sources that are classified as secondary, it is also a book. The author uses
an array of these types of sources to support their claim on the origin of African rice. Carney emphasizes the different characteristics of these plants in relation to the region in which they were originally located. A. Carpenter, ’The history of rice in Africa’, in I. Buddenhagen and J. Persley (eds.) Rice in Africa (London,1978)3-10, was utilized in exploring the correlations between the Muslims and Asian rice in Africa at the time eleventh century. She argues that the time in which Muslims occupied the content does not match up with that of the African rice that was already established which is also proven throughout the dietary demands of the people, she later explained.
Judith A. Carney’s extensive use of historical documents aided in supporting her argument that rice originated from Africa and was then cultivated in various regions through the Colombian exchange. She used concession to admit that even though there is evidence to prove her claim, there is evidence that could prove her wrong. The use of sources provided strong grounds for the claim to be argued and the evidence would lead back to the origin is Africa. The author presented other crops that originated from Africa and is now cultivated from other regions which shows a sense of pattern when the origins of rice is in question. In sum, Carney’s use of sources effectively supports her argument.
Carney uses the Chicago format to organize the sources. The formatting allows for one to be able to read the footnotes that coincide with what is written in the paper. Footnotes serve as a purpose for readers to have the context of each source used because of the type of document it is and the date it was published. The title of each document helps to illuminate the need for the readers to go out and do research for themselves to understand what is being read. Chicago Format consists of the footnote of each source used, date in which the source was published, pages the author is getting the sources from and title of the media. The use of sources in this research paper shows that the author did extensive research in order to put forth a plausible argument to events that occurred centuries prior.
Self Reflection Essay
Exploratory Essays requires the author to have investigated the topic that they are writing about in length. This is to help those who may not have read the source, acquire as much information they can in order to create an understanding. Exploratory essays will include source analysis, deep dive into a topic, and objected points of view. The exploratory essay constructed over the course of a few weeks consisted of intense source analysis of work done by scholars.
Throughout the weeks of constructed the exploratory essay, the course learning outcomes consisted of exploring and analyzing in writing and reading a variety of genres. The genre read was a research paper written on the history of crops and livestock throughout the years. An evaluation of the sources the authors used helped the readers to navigate if the test is written contained bias or was purely objective. Throughout this period of time readers developed strategies for reading, drafting, collaborating, revising and editing. Databases such as blackboard encouraged collaboration, revising, and editing between researchers. Groups that were created helped the students to get peer review on their drafts in order to submit a polished, and complete version of the essay.
Collaborative and social aspects of the writing process were maintained through phone group chats and blackboard. Group chats on the phones created a more personal layout and none restricting way of communication between peers. Voices were heard throughout each discussion and no one followed a specific guideline in how to help each other. Discussion boards result in a restriction on students in speaking casually to better communicate instead of a more professional setting being monitored.
Lastly in constructing the exploratory essay researchers were able to locate research sources used by the authors. Figuring out if the source was a journal, article, book, or magazine helped the researchers to better understand if the author carried out the required research in order to write an informative and reliable research paper. Researchers also had to identify when the source was published to determine if the source was a primary or secondary source which helps to better analyze the text.
This entry is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.
