Spring 2022  |  SOC 3613W Section 001: Stuffed and Starved: The Politics of Eating (65707)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
UMNTC Liberal Education Requirement
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/18/2022 - 05/02/2022
Mon, Wed 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 150
Enrollment Status:
Closed (61 of 60 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
This course takes a cross-cultural, historical, and transnational perspective to the study of the global food system. Themes explored include: different cultural and social meanings attached to food; social class and consumption; the global food economy; global food chains; work in the food sector; the alternative food movement; food justice; environmental consequences of food production. prereq: Soc majors/minors must register A-F
Class Notes:
Click this link for more detailed course information: http://classinfo.umn.edu/?sara0028+SOC3613W+Spring2022
Class Description:

Hamburgers and a Coke, rice and beans, collard greens, "sustainable" sushi. What meanings do these foods conjure up, and for whom? Where are their ingredients grown, and what are the social and environmental impacts? Who prepares these dishes and who eats them? This course is built on two central premises: first, that the production, distribution, and consumption of food is profoundly relational, connecting different groups of people and places; and second, that one can gain great insights into these social relations through a sociological and political-economic analysis of food. This course takes a cross-cultural, historical, and transnational perspective to the study of the agrifood system. Among the themes we explore are the different cultural and social meanings attached to food; social class and consumption; work in the food sector; the global food economy; the idea of "food justice"; and the environmental consequences of food production. We will also study social movements seeking to change the food system. The general objective of this course is to teach you how to view the world of food and agriculture from a sociological and global perspective.
A more specific objective is to get you to think analytically about something that is so "everyday" that most of us take it for granted: where our food comes from and why, why we eat the way (and what) we do, and the kind of social and political-economic relationships involved in our food encounters.
Learning Objectives:

By the end of the term students will:

• Utilize sociological theories and concepts to understand, discuss, apply, and create knowledge about society and food in all of the course activities. These concepts are tools for thinking about food in society.


• Identify and discuss food topics, problems, perspectives, and solutions


• Make connections between individual, local, and global dimensions of the food system through the concepts of positionality, inequalities, identity, culture, economy, and nation. This will be done through course discussions, writing, and film/video reflection assignments.


• Locate claims and evidence in media sources on food and develop the skills to assess the influence on public opinion about food topics.


• Practice and improve evidence-based communication, drawing on independent research and course material to support analysis of food topics.


• Create a final learning product focused on developing personal interests in a specific food topic, conducting individual research, and presenting learning in a dynamic group setting.
Grading:

A-F, no incompletes
Exam Format:
No
exams. Students write papers to demonstrate acquired skills and knowledge.
Class Format:

lectures, films, class discussion.
Workload:

Students can expect to read between 60-80 pages a week, write weekly commentaries that demonstrate their understanding of the readings, write two short papers, and write a 6-8 page, research-based paper on a course-related topic. The writing-intensive course is also heavily discussion-based, and attendance and active participation are required.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/65707/1223
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
13 October 2021

ClassInfo Links - Spring 2022 Sociology Classes

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