Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology

This graduate seminar will center on the crucial topic of food, the production, preparation, and consumption of food, and the customs and symbolic behavior it entails, for food is an aspect of material culture that involves everyone, every day. Because of its universal, panhuman nature, food offers a meaningful way to compare and contrast cultures, allowing us to learn about others and ourselves. In addition to reading books and articles, the students would learn about foodways from other media, such as films and television cooking shows, and from small fieldwork projects in grocery stores, restaurants, and domestic kitchens.

A variety of examples will lead toward an understanding of the manifold meanings of food: its aesthetic and sensory aspects, the social dimensions of preparation and consumption, and food in relation to social class, ethnic and regional identities in the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Students will read relevant writings from the disciplines of Folklore, Anthropology, American Studies, Cultural Geography, Art History, and History.