Global Food Studies: Ecocultural Sustainability and Diversity

(Same as European Languages and Transcultural Studies M25.) Food is culture—and has been a global force since the first formation of human societies. The intercontinental movement of tomatoes, sugarcane, rice, tobacco, and spices has directly influenced populations, economies, empires, and ecologies; while food today shapes our local and transnational experiences of nationality, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, race, labor, and natural ecosystems. Interdisciplinary exploration of how people use food to imagine themselves as individuals and/or as part of a group as well as a wider globally-interconnected ecosystem. Identification of the importance of food in different eras and cultures by exploring the way nationality, race, gender, socioeconomic status, etc. influence global food choices or practices. Examination also of how a diverse range of cultures are maintained or transformed through food. Through the examination of scholarly research and global culinary traditions, exploration of the complex relationship that societies, nations, and ecosystems have with food.

P/NP or letter grading.