Scribner Seminar Program
Course Description

Eating and Being: Food, Culture and Identity

Instructor(s): Xiashuo Hou, Sociology

Food not only serves our biological needs but also reflects how we relate to each other as social beings. How we eat, cook, and share food, and what we consider to be food are bound with social and cultural meanings and are often related to the various aspects of our identity such as class, gender, and ethnicity. In addition, food is often rooted in places and disseminated through human migration. This course will introduce students to the sociology and anthropology of food and foodways, and explore how our identities are shaped by and expressed through eating certain food. Students will compare how food is studied and portrayed by scholars and essayists, in literature and movies. They will also reflect on their relationship with food, and identity, and critically investigate the globalization and industrialization of food and its impact on different peoples and societies. This course may include a multi-ethnic food trip.