Food, Culture, and Society

This course draws upon a variety of perspectives to examine the social processes that shape how food is produced, prepared and consumed in the Global North. The topics and readings cover the sociology of gender, sociology of science, cultural studies, anthropology, public health and labor relations. Within each of these perspectives, we will use food as a lens to examine the complex social and economic relations that determine what we eat and how our food gets to our plate. We explore the roots of American food cultures, and dig deeper into problems associated with the food system, such as labor injustices, unequal access to healthy food, obesity and diet-related illnesses. What ends up on our plate, as we will learn, reflects an ongoing tension between the agency of individual eaters and the power of institutions and social structures.