16921

WiSe 22/23: Introduction to Food Studies

Susanne Scharnowski

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Subject: Food is not just necessary to keep us alive. It is a crucial part of cultures and societies: What and how we eat plays a role in the formation and confirmation of individual and group identity. Furthermore, how food is produced and consumed is an economic, environmental, ethical, and political issue. Thus, studying food from an interdisciplinary angle, considering social, cultural, environmental, ethical, economic, and political aspects, gives us access to some key aspects of our civilisation. Berlin is a very good point of departure for the study of food: Between 1870 and 1945, when it was one of the main German industrial centres and the most ‘American’ city of Europe, the city’s modernity became manifest in countless innovations in the production and consumption of food. Additionally, ever since the beginning of industrialisation, migrants from different parts of the world have brought their food cultures to Berlin. And since 2010, Berlin has, once again, become a hotbed for new food trends: It has been named the “the vegan Mecca” and the “vegetarian capital” of the world, and a place where food activists campaign against food waste, for regional and organic food or for ethical eating. Program: With a focus on Berlin, this course will introduce the students to interdisciplinary food studies. Based on presentations by the lecturer as well as academic texts, we will examine food in Berlin since the 19th century. We will visit an exhibition about the cultural history of food in Germany at Domäne Dahlem, where students can also learn about organic agriculture. Finally, the students will do group research on food projects, eating places and initiatives in present-day Berlin – if possible, field research based on research – and present their findings. Some of the course materials will be made available digitally on Blackboard (https://lms.fu-berlin.de ); additionally, students will have to buy a reader with some texts from the copy-centre Habelschwerdter Allee 37. Should you select this course? This course is open to students from all academic fields. Nevertheless, you should be prepared to study academic texts in English from the social sciences, cultural history and cultural studies. You should be interested in discussing eating habits and food preferences in a cultural, social, political and environmental context, and you should be prepared to do some (field) research on a specific aspect of contemporary Berlin food culture in a working group and present and discuss the findings. Workload and Assessment: To obtain 5 ECTS credits, you have to study and engage with the course materials (an average of 15 pages per week), give a group presentation; you also have to pass the mid-term test before Christmas and the final written examination (take-home exam). If you want to participate, though, you must attend the first, at the latest the second session (17 or, at the latest, 24 October); joining the course later won’t be possible. In general, students must attend at least 80% of the classes (13 out of 16). close