SOC 271 Food & Culture: Czech & Global Perspectives

This course introduces students to different ways of thinking about people's relationship to food worldwide, but with special emphasis on the Czech Republic. When we source, prepare and consume foods, we transform the products of nature into culture, but what is guiding these practices? Together, we will examine the roles food plays in ethnic identity, class, gender, rituals, memories and relationships with the landscapes that sustain us. We also analyze emerging trends and by the end of the course make predictions about likely further developments. Interdisciplinary aspects from fields such as those history and memoirs, literature, economics and environmental studies enrich the anthropological perspective. At completion of this course, students will be able to understand and apply theoretical models and information to their own culture, and they will enjoy an expanded understanding of the choices, dilemmas, and human stories involved in what we eat.