Food Cultures, Food Politics - Einzelansicht

This course will provide a space for critical interrogation and discussion of food cultures and the politics that are associated with them. We will tackle questions of conspicuous consumption, the coloniality of food habits as well as ideologies associated with the human body. The foundational tenet of this seminar is that food is of particular political relevance despite attempts to portray it as 'just culture'.

Prospective participants should also start looking critically at the food cultures and material consumption with which they engage every day as class, race and gender structure food practices. Part of this critical self-reflection will be the creation of a food protocol over two weeks in order to help students identify aspects of their food ways that they find particularly interesting.

All students will take part in short online feedback exercises throughout the semester.

For 3 ECTS ungraded, participants will facilitate in-class discussion on a given day by introducing relevant resources as well as critical questions and moderating the debate.

For 3 ECTS graded, participants will conduct self-reflexive research by recording their dietary habits (e.g., what was consumed but also in which setting – at home, restaurant, public space – it was consumed) and analyzing one particular aspect using the methodologies introduced over the semester (3 ECTS; ~1500 words).

For 6 ECTS, students will write a research paper on a food/politics-related subject of their choice (~3500 words).