I really enjoyed reading your abstract; I think it is as feminine as the research topic–cooking. I love the style: it’s interesting and easy to read; however, this piece is built on research seriously done and good scholarship.

I think doing empirical study could be a good method as you make it clear that you choose an area that no or few people have explored. But it will be a lot of work especially when you analyze the cooks’ writing.

I do not think I can give you ideas about improving it, but I have really learned a lot by reading your proposal. I know how we can write it.

Great job.

Jie

However, I feel like the hook gets a bit redundant:

“Everyone loves food. [. . .]And no wonder: we are a nation of food lovers, [. . .].”

This also makes the study seem a bit ethnocentric, as it would appear that “everyone” and “our nation” are interchangeable.

Another problem with that first paragraph is that the following seems “dropped” into discussion:

“Our interest isn’t limited to the practical requirements of nutrition, either.”

The hook does such a good job of evoking the excitement we have about food that nutrition in food and even the necessity of eating are thoroughly overshadowed, and you provide absolutely no indication that our food excitement has anything to do with nutritional concerns. So the idea that we are concerned with nutrition feels “dropped-in.” Furthermore, considering the staggering obesity rate in the US, a fair argument could be made that we aren’t that interested in nutrition at all, and that if we are, it is only because our nutrition has been neglected to the point of becoming an abominable crisis.

That said, I definitely think the project as a whole and your representation of it here are of high quality. I like you research questions a lot, but I was a bit surprised that you aren’t asking some questions about recipes, recipe books and recipe web sites as places/spaces.

As I am well aware of your expertise in rhetorical space, I really expected you would be looking at those thing, and I’m a bit disappointed that you aren’t. Is there already too much research happening there and you don’t want your study be redundant or. . . ? I would encourage you to marshal and apply all of your expertise to this study because it has much to offer to feminism and rhetoric.

Something else you might consider is finding away to connect your project to the composition classroom. There is nothing wrong at all with historical and empirical studies, but a connection to the classroom will help you sell yourself to schools that looking for a Composition expert.

One last concern is that I’m not sure doing an empirical study is really worth it because 1. your ideas are great, and your project doesn’t really need it to fly, 2. it won’t prove anything, and 3. you don’t have to or need to prove anything–your ideas will open eyes, and that is really what it’s all about.

I would advise you to simplify and save the Great American Academic Study for when you’re Dr. E and in a well-deserved tenure-track post at a good school.

Again, this is good work, so whatever you decide to do, you have good reason to have faith in your ideas and expertise.