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Class Detail:

FA 2006
History
HISTORY 195 -  The Writing of History
Section 003

Global Food Histories: Tales of Commodities and Cookbooks

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Credits: 4
Requirements & Distribution: FYWR

Course Attributes
Other Course Info: This course may not be included in a History concentration. F.
Repeatability: May not be repeated for credit.

 

(real time availability for all sections)

What can food tell us about the past? In this course, we will consider this fascinating question by focusing on two main themes: (1) the business of food production and consumption; and (2) the links between cookbooks, identity, and memory. Like the foods we will discuss, our analysis will cover the globe. Following top food historians, we will travel through culinary landscapes in the Caribbean, Mexico, the United States, France, India, and Africa. In addition, students will have the chance to become food historians by working with materials from the Longone Culinary Archive in the Clement’s Library on campus. This archive contains a wealth of food-related materials including cookbooks, menus, advertisements, maps, and diaries from the 16th through the 20th centuries. Our discussion of these historical sources along with existing food scholarship will provide us with rich insights into a subject that is at once central to, and yet often overlooked, in history — food.


Textbooks/Other Materials
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