Anthropology of Food and Foodways

Food and eating are not just necessary for life, they are the basis of culture. Through selection, ingestion, and digestion of food, we make the outside world a part of us. It is not surprising then that food and its associated practices have long nourished the discipline of anthropology. This course applies a comparative, anthropological lens to the study of food by examining the connections between what we eat and who we are. Through readings, podcast listening, discussions, and a spectrum of hands-on experiences, including field excursions, we explore the production, distribution, and consumption of food in a range of cultures and contexts. From family meals and dumpster diving to artisanal cheeses and farmers' markets, the course addresses the ways food shapes not only our relationships with people, but to our environment, our community, and other nations and cultures. We interrogate not only what food is but what constitutes good food. We examine what can, cannot, and should not be eaten; what role food plays in the creation of community and the construction of identity; and the intersection of food activism and social justice. We explore changes to food systems, in particular transformations in food production and distribution, and the impact of industrial diets on the body, lives, and livelihoods. While engaging with debates that animate the anthropological study of food, students draw on readings, audio, and visual sources, and employ empirical methods to research a dimension of their immediate foodscape.