FST 510: Food, Culture, & History
Chatham University Woodland Rd Pittsburgh PA
Wednesdays 9- 12 pm -- Dilworth
Alice Julier, Instructor
Jennifer Howard Lemmon, Assistant Instructor
Contact info:
office: Dilworth Hall (Alice: main floor; Jennifer: GA office, bottom floor)
email: ajulier@chatham.edu, jhoward@chatham.edu
office hours: (Alice)Mondays and Wednesdays 1-2 and by appointment (Jennifer).
Course Description & Goals
This course explores the role of food and agriculture in the shaping of modern societies. We will
examine food and diet in historical and transnational perspectives, including topics such as
taboo, taste, and disgust; the disruptions of colonialism and global exchange; the creation of
world cuisines and the impact of industrialization; the consequences of class, gender, and race
inequality; the fusion of migration; and social reform responses to various food regimes.
Student Learning Outcomes
By the end of the semester, students will be able to:
 Articulate a historical context for the development of national and global cuisines and
cultural food practices.
 Conduct research on a specific food or foodway and trace its development as a critical
component of social or economic life.
 Use theoretical and methodological tools of historical and cultural analysis to illustrate
how food is related to gender, class, and race.
 Demonstrate the relationship between cultural ideals and empirical realities related to
health, the environment, and globalization.
Food Studies Program Goals
 Interdisciplinary breadth: Students will have the ability to articulate and integrate knowledge and skills across
and within a variety of disciplines, particularly as these skills relate to the historical and contemporary
organization of food provision and consumption.
 Communicative competence: Students will demonstrate ability to use history, ethics, culture, and empirical
data to document and evaluate food systems through oral, written, and multi-modal means of representation.
 Systems knowledge: Students will have a command of food systems as a conceptual and practical tool for
understanding the connections between agriculture and food production, social configurations, cultural
meanings, and environmental conditions. This goal includes understanding and applying appropriate research
methods.
Required Books
Carney, Judith and Richard Nicholas Rosomoff. In Slavery’s Shadow: Africa’s Botanical
Legacy in the Atlantic World . University of California Press, 2009
1
Biltekoff, Charlotte Eating Right in America: The Cultural Politics of Food and Health
Pilcher, Jeffrey. !Que Vivan Los Tamales!: Food and the Making of Mexican Identity (New
Mexico, 1998). ISBN-10: 0826318738
Gvion, Liora Beyond Hummus and Falafel: Social and Political Aspects of Palestinian Food in
Israel University of California Press 2012
Lolis Eric Elie, ed., Cornbread Nation 2: The United States of Barbecue, University of North
Carolina Press, ISBN 978-0807855560
Crosby, Alfred. The Columbian Exchange: Biological and Cultural Consequences of 1492.
Praeger, 2003, 1973. ISBN-10: 0275980928 (paperback)
Mannur, Anita Culinary Fictions: Food in South Asian Diasporic Culture Temple University
Press 2009
Student Requirements & Responsibilities
This course will focus heavily on reading, understanding historical sources, presenting ideas,
and developing a framework for looking at culture and cuisine critically. Detailed guidelines
and explanation of the grading for each assignment will be provided in separate handouts.
Required work in this class includes:




Attendance, class participation, and leading class discussion (10 %)
Responses—students will write 4 out of 6 possible response papers (40%)
Research Prospectus & Annotated Bibliography (40 %)
Culinary Presentation (10 %)
Grade Scale
Your final grade will be assigned based on the following scale (please note that graduate
programs at Chatham require a final grade of B- or higher for course credit):
A (100-96)
C+ (75-71)
A- (95-91)
C (70-66)
B+ (90-86)
C- (65-61)
B (85- 81)
D (60- 56)
B- (80-76)
F (55-0 points)
Expectations
I apologize if these seem obvious or dogmatic, but you would be surprised how frequently
professors encounter these issues regardless of the kind of course or number of students. By
being enrolled in this course, we have a 15-week commitment to learning together – these
expectations are here to allow us to focus on that commitment rather than other distractions.
Goals
Our goal is to gain a basic understanding of the relationship between culture, history, social life,
and the provision and consumption of food. This is an enormous topic – so we will not be doing
a systematic survey of the history of food. (I can recommend a five-volume encyclopedia that’s
available for your summer reading if you wish.) However, what we will do is examine some
topics deeply and with an eye towards some specific problems and means of analyzing them that
are part of the conceptual toolbox of history, geography, and cultural studies. You are bound to
like some of the materials more than others – but I expect you to engage with the same level of
2
energy regardless. Sometimes being able to eloquently articulate an idea that, in the end, you
find problematic is a great skill.
Reading
It is a baseline expectation that everyone will do all the reading for each class—but let’s be
specific about what “do the reading,” means. Every text has at least two levels of meaning—
what we might call the “plain sense” and the “analytical sense.” The plain sense is simply the
dictionary definitions of its words, considered in their grammatical relation to each other. The
plain sense includes the main point, the plot—everything related to literal meaning. Readers do
not usually disagree about a text’s plain sense. Disagreement comes at the level of the analytical,
when, in the course of interpreting, we have to make decisions about relative importance,
relationships to other ideas, evidence provided, and so forth. You should understand the plain
sense of each assigned text when you come to class – this provides a basic understanding from
which our class discussions can begin.
Pragmatically, one of the things this means is that you should—as a kind of absolute minimum
—know and be able to tell is the dictionary meaning of the key words in the assigned reading. If
you are struggling with what those words mean in context (questions like: what is the author’s
point? How are they using a term in relation to a larger universe of terms? What does this
sentence mean?), and you cannot figure it out after considerable effort, you should bring those
sentences to class for discussion and questioning. Chances are that you are not the only one who
has struggled with that passage – and if others did not, their job is to help you out.
In an interdisciplinary program like FST, you will encounter different amounts of reading in
different classes – in this class, because the emphasis is on history and culture, you will have a
significant amount of reading each week. This is par for the course in any Masters program –
indeed, mastery requires taking ownership of knowledge and reading beyond what is discussed
in class. That said, the classroom will provide a space where we will help each other make sense
of the readings and, more importantly, the larger ideas they encapsulate. Each discipline you
encounter has its own language, expected writing style, theoretical constructs, and methods.
What counts for evidence, good writing, and rigorous inquiry will be part of what we discuss.
You should also know the difference between types of texts – knowing something about the
author, their field of expertise, and the standards of their field is also important background that
you should bring to each reading and class discussion. Sometimes we’ll provide that, but
sometimes it’s up to you to do the basic google search/research.
Some things to help us work together:
Academic Freedom: In many classrooms, academic freedom most frequently comes up in two
aspects: charges of “offensiveness” or “brainwashing" or "indoctrination.” While you have the
right to be free of gratuitous insult, you do not have the right not to be offended. I mean
something very specific by this: At a university, you do not have the right to be protected from
words, ideas, values, or beliefs—whether conservative or liberal, religious or secular, putatively
obscene, or any other category—that you find distasteful. A key part of any education is the
careful scrutiny of received ideas. Sometimes my job is to play devil’s advocate, to push you to
consider the sources of your opinions – and to find evidence for them. By the same token, you
3
should feel free to disagree, either verbally or in your assignments, with any idea expressed in
class, whether by me or by any student. Your grade will not be determined by how closely your
thought agrees with mine; rather, it will be exclusively the product of the quality of both your
thinking and your prose. (Of course, assignments riddled with errors of fact are a different
question.) Every semester, students with whom I strongly disagree often end up with excellent
grades because they write with clarity, logic, grace, and relevant examples.
Cell phones: The added functionality of modern cell phones (text messaging, games, cameras)
means that it is no longer enough to ask that ringers be turned off, or set to vibrate -- phones
should be put away except during break. I am equally culpable and will force myself to use a
clock to keep track of our time.
Email: Email is terrific, and probably the most reliable way of getting in touch with me outside
of class. To get the most out of email, here are some tips:
 Copyedit – be as clear as possible.
 Have a meaningful subject line
 Don't demand that I write back by a set time or as soon as possible; almost by definition,
if I've not responded, that means I'm not able to do so immediately. Just to provide
context, I often get 45 emails each morning, so if I missed yours, it wasn’t personal and
you should feel free to remind me again. I also don’t always read email over the
weekend.
 Consider whether the topic warrants an email or an in-person conversation. Both are
fine, but sometimes it may be more appropriate to convey your message in one way
rather than the other.
Laptops and ipads: They’re awesome. I have one myself. But unless you are using one to
present material to the entire class or can’t print out an article, you should be taking notes with
pen and paper.
Tardiness: If you are late, please do not come in while anyone’s talking. Either take a seat by
the door, or wait until there’s a break before taking a seat. (Likewise, if you’re late, don’t
compound the minor inconsideration of tardiness with the outright barbarism of disrupting the
class by unpacking your stuff.) Persistent tardiness will, after a warning, be counted as
absences. Packing up and/or leaving early is the same as arriving late. Yes, class can sometimes
run over a bit. If, for some reason, you need to arrive late or leave early, please let the instructor
and the facilitators for that day’s class know in advance. Of course, these rules do not apply in
circumstances of illness or emergency.
Side Conversations: Don’t have them. Attend to the subject at hand.
Food in the Food Studies Classroom Many professors do not want food in the classroom.
However, because we are studying food, there will be many occasions where food is appropriate.
We will be sampling food almost every week of class, usually at the beginning of class.
Otherwise, please refrain from eating during class other than at the break.
4
Course schedule This syllabus is a template for our time together. That said, it’s not a contract
written in stone. There will be some adaptability based on group interest, the weather, and
interesting or exciting events. Please check your Chatham email and the Moodle page
frequently. While we will try to stick to the outline, please recognize that flexibility is designed
to make your lives easier.
Participation and attendance Attendance is required – with the exception of religious holidays
that are not accounted for by the academic calendar. You also have one Global Anxiety Day
excused absence that must be communicated to me at least two days in advance. I highly
recommend not waiting until the end of the semester to take your GAD (and it’s not required that
you take one!) It is not possible to take GAD on a day when one has a presentation due and a
GAD does not excuse you from turning in any assigned work for that day. If you miss a class, it
is your responsibility to find out what you’ve missed from your classmates. Students who miss
in-class work due to an unexcused absence will be marked down accordingly. Late work will
always result in a lower grade unless there is a documented medical/family emergency. If you
have a problem with a deadline, contact me as early as possible before the due date.
Participating in class is critical and required. There are structured opportunities for participation,
but you should also be contributing in a variety of ways. In discussions, disagreements are fine,
since they help us clarify our thinking. However, it is important that everyone has a chance to
speak equally, without interruption and to treat each other with respect even when we differ in
our views. We will invoke a “three comment rule” – if you have spoken three times in class
(more than a minor nod of agreement, let’s say), please stop and consider whether your next
comment is important enough to use up an opportunity that might have been taken by another
quieter classmate. If you decide it is (after you’ve thought for at least a moment), then go ahead.
Questions to the discussion leaders or others are an excellent way to participate. Bringing in
notes to share and specific issues of focus related to the readings are also excellent ways to
participate. For the extremely quiet and shy, we have ways to supplement your participation
grade (up to a point).
University-wide Policies
Chatham University Honor Code: Chatham University students pledge to maintain the Honor Code, which states
in part: “Honor is that principle by which we at Chatham form our code of living, working, and studying together.
The standards of honor at Chatham require that all students act with intellectual independence, personal integrity,
honesty in all relationships, and consideration for the rights and well being of others.” Information about the Honor
Code is available in the Student Handbook.
Cheating and Plagiarism: Cheating is defined as the attempt, successful or not, to give or obtain aid and/or
information by illicit means in meeting any academic requirements, including examinations. Plagiarism is defined
as the use, without proper acknowledgement, of the ideas, phrases, sentences, or larger units of discourse from
another writer or speaker.
Disability Statement: Chatham University is committed to providing an environment that ensures that no individual
is discriminated against on the basis of her/his disability. Students with disabilities, as defined under the Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and who need special academic accommodations, should notify the assistant
dean of the PACE Center as soon as possible. The PACE Center will work with students and the course instructor to
coordinate and monitor the provision of reasonable academic accommodations.
5
Non-Registered Students Policy: In accordance with University policy, only officially registered students may
attend this class and all other classes offered at the University after the drop/add period. Please confer with your
academic advisor if you need assistance with the registration process or you need additional information.
SCHEDULE
Week 1 (1/7): Introduction – understanding culture, history, and food.
Reichl, R excerpt from Tender at the Bone
Proust, M excerpt from Remembrance of Things Past
Ray, K. (2002) “What I Learned from MFK Fisher About Living After 9/11”
Gastronomica
Week 2 (1/14) Food as a Category of Cultural and Historical Analysis
Belasco, W. Introduction (“Why Study Food?”) Food: the Key Concepts
Lévi-Strauss, C “The Culinary Triangle” (reprinted in F&C)
Douglas, “Deciphering a Meal” Daedalus
Douglas “Introduction” Food in the Social Order
Korsmeyer, C and Sutton, D (2011) “The Sensory Experience of Food” in FCS 14(4)
Tuchman, G and Levine, H “New York Jews and Chinese Food”
Bentley, A “Martha’s Food: Whiteness of a Certain Kind”
Week 3: (1/21): Mapping Out Culture in Time and Place 1: Migration
Crosby, A. W. The Columbian Exchange: Biological and Cultural Consequences of
1492
Mintz, “Food and Diaspora” FCS vol 11, no.4 2008
Gupta, A “A Different History of the Present: The Movement of Crops, Cuisines, and
Globalization” Curried Cultures
Lawler, A “The Mystery of Curry” in Slate.com
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/food/2013/01/indus_civilization_food_how_scientists
_are_figuring_out_what_curry_was_like.html
(optional background: Living Anthropologically: “Real History versus Guns, Germs, and
Steel – Anthropology 2.5” http://www.livinganthropologically.com/anthropology/gunsgerms-and-steel/ )
Week 4 (1/28): field trip/work on prospectus proposal/film
PROSPECTUS TOPIC PROPOSAL DUE; BOOK RESPONSE #1 DUE
Week 5 (2/4): Mapping Out Culture in Time and Place 2:
Carney, Judith and Richard Nicholas Rosomoff. (2009) In Slavery’s Shadow:
Africa’s Botanical Legacy in the Atlantic World .
Dash, Julie. "Rice Culture." Through the Kitchen Window: Women Explore the Intimate
Meanings of Food and Cooking.
Beoku-Betts, Josephine. "We Got Our Way of Cooking Things: Women, Food, and
Preservation of Cultural Identity Among the Gullah." Food in the USA.
Week 6 (2/11): Indelible and Inedible
6
Korsmeyer, C “(2007) “Delightful, Delicious, Disgusting” in Food and Philosophy
Douglas, Mary (1966) excerpt from “Purity and Danger”
Cannon, W (1942) “Voodoo Death” American Anthropologist Vol 44, No. 2 169-187
Lam, A (1990) “Why We Eat Dog” Mother Jones
Clark, Dylan. The Raw and the Rotten: Punk Cuisine."Ethnology 43, no. 1 (2004)
Heldke, L (2003) “How I Ate Civet Cat and Lived to Tell the Tale” Exotic Appetites
Rozin, P and Fallon, (1987) A Perspective on Disgust Psychological Review
BOOK RESPONSE #2 DUE GLOBAL CUISINES: AFRICA and EUROPE
Week 7(2/18): Migratory Identities: From the South Up
Lolis Eric Elie, ed., Cornbread Nation 2: The United States of Barbecue
Southern Foodways Alliance videos/website
Poe, T “The Origins of Soul Food in Black Urban Identity: Chicago 1915-1947” Food in
the USA
Ferris Cohen, M. “Feeding the Jewish Soul in the Delta Diaspora” Southern Cultures
GLOBAL CUISINES: NORTH AMERICA – REGIONAL; NORTH AMERICA –
ETHNIC AND INDIGENOUS
*Week 8 (2/25) Nationalism, Cuisine, and Gender
Pilcher, J (1998) Que Vivan los Tamales: Food and the Making of Mexican Identity
Allison, A (1991) “Japanese Mothers and Obentos: The Lunchbox as Ideological State
Apparatus” in F&C
Stross, B (2011) “Food, Foam, and Fermentation in Mesoamerica: Bubbles and the
Sacred State of Inebriation” FCS 14(4)
BOOK RESPONSE #3 DUE
PRELIMINARY BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE
* Week 9 (3/4): Culture, Identity, Morality (Taste)
Bourdieu, P excerpt from Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste (1-13;
169-200;382-3) and Cultural Production
Articles on Feran Adria…
Shapin, Steven. "Hedonistic Fruit Bombs." London Review of Books 27, no. 3 (2005)
Khatchadourian, Raffi. "The Taste Makers: The Secret World of the Flavor Factory." The
New Yorker, November 23, 2009.
Feiler, Bruce. "Corrections: Everything We Thought We Knew About the Science of
Taste is Wrong." Gourmet Magazine, July, 2008.
Watch: John Cleese's Wine for the Confused
BOOK RESPONSE #4 DUE
Week 10 (3/11): spring break
*Week 11 (3/18): Culture, Identity, Morality (Reform)
Biltekoff, C. Eating Right in America: The Cultural Politics of Food and Health
Leitch, “Slow Food and the Politics of Pork Fat” (F&C)
Johnston and Baumann, excerpt from Foodies: Democracy and Distinction in the
Gourmet Foodscape
Julier, A “The Political Economy of Obesity: The Fat Pay All” in F&C
7
Contois, E. “The History of Dietary Advice” blogpost
PROSPECTUS FIRST DRAFT DUE
*Week 12 (3/20): in-class workshop/film
BOOK RESPONSE #5 DUE
GLOBAL CUISINES: CUISINES OF CONFLICT and ASIA
*Week 13 (4/1) East Meets West 1: Colonial and Other Encounters
Gvion, L Beyond Hummus and Falafel: Social and Political Aspects of Palestinian
Food in Israel
TBD: hummus debates and Conflict Kitchen articles; Cuisines of the Axis of Evil
BOOK RESPONSE #6 DUE
GLOBAL CUISINES: MEDITERRANEAN
*Week 14 (4/8): East Meets West 2: Colonial and Other Encounters
Mannur, A Culinary Fictions: Food in South Asian Diasporic Culture
Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney, "The Ambivalent Self in Japanese Culture" and "Rice as Self"
Narayan, U (1997) “Eating Cultures: Incorporation, Identity, and Indian Food” in
Dislocating Cultures
Appadurai, A “How to Make a National Cuisine: Cookbooks in Contemporary India”
Jin, Ha “When Cowboy Chicken Came to Town”
*Week 15 (4/15): prospectus discussions.
Final Prospectus & Bibliography due to instructor in hard copy during finals week
8