VS-Culture - Gender - Media: Food Studies
Sabine Schülting
Comments
Food is not just essential for human survival, it is also a fundamental part of individual and cultural identities. Food preferences are shaped by national or regional traditions and religious dietary restrictions or other ethical criteria, by individual family rituals, by class and sometimes also by gender. Food from other parts of the world can serve as a means of cultural encounter and (imaginary) travel. In turn, together with people on the move, food also migrates and merges with other culinary traditions. Food therefore carries meaning and functions as a means of communication, but cooking and eating rituals also form the basis of fundamental cultural practices that establish community, hospitality and conviviality. The course will give an introduction to the transdisciplinary field of Food Studies, including theoretical approaches to thinking about food. Our discussion will then move on to representations and negotiations of food in a variety of literary and non-literary genres and media (poetry, short stories, essays, films, cookbooks) from different Anglophone countries.
Texts will be uploaded on Blackboard.
Assessment will be on the basis of regular attendance, active participation in class activities (such as response papers, short presentations, group work) and the submission of an essay (c. 4000 words).
close16 Class schedule
Regular appointments