SOC 242
Food and Society Spring 2015
Division II
This is not the current course catalog

Class Details

The French critic Roland Barthes famously said that food is a system of communication. This multidisciplinary course is designed to introduce students to different ways of thinking about food through an exploration of the complex social and cultural rules that underlie food’s consumption. Because our food choices communicate who we are–or what we aspire to be–the study of food reveals how societies throughout the world construct difference, whether religious, ethnic, national, or racial. The class will also examine nutrition, hunger, ideals of desirability in body image, and visual representations of food in advertising and art. Probable readings include: policy analyst Raj Patel on the global food system; sociologist Anthony Winson on the industrial diet; journalists Michael Pollan on ethical food choices and Jonathan Bloom on food waste; historian Rachel Laudan on cuisine and empire; and sensory scientist John Prescott on taste.
The Class: Format: lecture/discussion
Limit: 19
Expected: 19
Class#: 3162
Grading: yes pass/fail option, no fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: active class participation, 4 response papers, one 8- to 10-page research paper, 1 oral presentation and 2 class projects
Extra Info: not available for the Gaudino option
Prerequisites: none
Enrollment Preferences: Anthropology and Sociology majors and students with a demonstrated interest in the study of food
Distributions: Division II

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