General information
Course type | AMUPIE |
Module title | Anthropology of Food |
Language | English |
Module lecturer | dr Zofia Boni |
Lecturer's email | zofbon@amu.edu.pl |
Lecturer position | Assistant Professor |
Faculty | Faculty of Anthropology and Cultural Studies |
Semester | 2024/2025 (winter) |
Duration | 30 |
ECTS | 4 |
USOS code | 20-AMU-PIE-SZ-AF |
Timetable
The seminars will be organized every two weeks for 3h meetings, altogether 8 classes in the semester. The classes will take place on Tuesdays, 2.15-5.15 pm, and will be held at the Institute of Anthropology and Ethnology (Collegium Historicum Novum, ul. Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 7), room 2.20. Classes start on the 8th of October.
Module aim (aims)
This module aims to introduce students to the anthropology of food. It focuses on the political, social and cultural meanings and negotiations around food consumption. It showcases food as a vantage point to study and understand the issues related to gender, class, migration, inequalities and global tensions as they are expressed through daily practices.
Pre-requisites in terms of knowledge, skills and social competences (where relevant)
The competence in written and oral English is mandatory. There will be a lot of reading materials. Some basic knowledge of anthropology or sociology would be helpful. Students will be expected to read all compulsory materials, actively participate in seminar discussions, prepare reading questions and group presentations. There will also be a final short essay due at the end of the semester.
Syllabus
WEEK 1: Political economy of food
WEEK 2: Food and social class
WEEK 3: Alternative food networks
WEEK 4: Food and gender
WEEK 5: Family meals
WEEK 6: National foods and tourism
WEEK 7: Food and the body
WEEK 8: Critical nutritionism and healthy foods
The assessment for this course will be based on seminar participation (preparing reading questions before class, class discussions, group presentations), which will constitute 40% of the final mark; and 4000 word essays (60% of the final mark).
Reading list
A detailed reading list will be provided at the beginning of the course by course convener, with general and additional materials to read for each seminar.
Biltekoff, Charlotte (2013) Eating Right in America. The Cultural Politics of Food and Health. Durham, London: Duke University Press.
Cairns, Kate, and Josee Johnston (2015) Food and Femininity. London: Bloomsbury.
Counihan, Carole and Penny Van Esterick (2013) Food and Culture: A Reader. London: Routledge.
Guthman, Julie and Melanie DuPuis (2006) „Embodying neoliberalism: economy, culture, and the politics of fat”, Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 24: 427 – 448.
Hayes-Conroy, Alison and Jessica (2016) Doing Nutrition Differently. Critical Approaches to Diet and Dietary Intervention. London and New York: Routledge
Klein, Jakob A. and James L. Watson (eds.) (2016) The Handbook of Food and Anthropology. London: Bloomsbury.
Mintz, Sidney and Christine M. Du Bois (2002) “The anthropology of food and eating”, Annual Review of Anthropology, 31: 99 – 119.
Mol, Annemarie (2009) ”Good Taste: The Embodied Normativity of Citizen-Consumer”, Journal of Cultural Economy, 2:3, 269-283.
Murcott, Anne, Warren Belasco and Peter Jackson (eds) (2013) The Handbook of Food Research. London: Bloomsbury.
Silva, Elizabeth (2000) “The cook, the cooker and the gendering of the kitchen”, The Sociological Review, 48 (4): 612 – 628.
Ward, Paul, Coveney, John and Julie Henderson (2010) “Editorial: A sociology of food and eating: Why now?”, Journal of Sociology 46(4): 347 – 351.
Watson, James L. and Melissa L. Caldwell (eds) (2005) The Cultural Politics of Food and Eating. Oxford: Blackwell.
Wilk, Richard (1999) “’Real Belizean Food’: Building Local Identity in the Transnational Caribbean”, American Anthropologist, 101 (2): 244 – 255.
Wilk, Richard et al. (2015) “The Future of Food Studies”, Food, Culture & Society, 18(1): 167 – 186.