Twentieth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

Because food is a commonality for all human cultures, intimately connected to all facets of daily life, history, economics, politics, and social identity, it is the ideal vehicle for interdisciplinary courses. And because there is so much information about food on the internet in many languages, it is easy to create classes that transcend disciplinary boundaries including everything from personal blogs to scholarly articles, government publications, educational videos, you tube videos, television programs, festivals, movies, historical and cultural sites, newspaper articles, literature, art, art history, scientific journals…. the list is endless. And it is possible to pull students into the cultures of multiple countries and cultures in a single class, which is imperative for a language like Spanish that includes twenty-one countries. Food allows you to touch aspects of culture and vocabulary that are not typically included in textbooks in a way that is meaningful to students. Food also allows you incorporate materials from various disciplines: film studies, music, literature, agriculture, biology, archaeology, sociology, political science, religion, plant DNA and taxonomy, animal husbandry, chemistry and more. And it is possible to make such a class experiential, by including recipes, grocery shopping trips, native interviews, class dinners and the like. This study provides a model of a successful graduate class that can be modified for undergraduates and looks at questions of organization, course design, challenges, assignment design and examples of primary digital sources as well as an opportunity for faculty to consider their own courses.