Edible Matters: Cartography and the Cultural Biography of Food

Course Description

Summary

Food, Place, and Politics. This course investigates food in a globalized world by considering political economy, the history of colonialism, and cultural identity. Focusing on various geographical locales, we examine the economic factors, socio-political structures, and cultural implications that determine a crop’s value based on power relationships and global trade strategies. The class investigates how the cultivation of commodity food crops, such as corn and tropical fruits, has reshaped landscapes since the era of early European colonization, and the ways that subsequent globalized, industrialized food systems have affected environments, national sovereignty, labor, economic and human rights, cultural heritage, and identity. This is a research-based course that incorporates transdisciplinary approaches, including visual arts methodologies (drawing, sculpture, photography, performance, and video) to render diagrams and draw maps that visualize the intricacies and obscure relationships found in contemporary foodscapes.This course encourages students across diverse disciplines who wish to integrate food as a raw material for cross-disciplinary inquiry into their research. 

Alongside theoretical analysis, the course utilizes experiential learning—including culinary experimentation, archival cooking, and communal meals—as a primary methodology to physically engage with the histories, labor, and cultural politics embedded in what we consume.