The French writer J.A. Brillat-Savarin once remarked:  “Tell me what you eat, and I’ll tell you who you are.” Food plays an essential role in visual culture and society. This course investigates historical and contemporary intersections of food and visual culture through such themes as the practices of farming, restaurant cultures, family meals, global colonization, food insecurity, and body image. Each week we will look at food culture through interdisciplinary lenses (and ask): "how do artists, cooks, fashion designers, poets, graphic artists, industrial designers, animators, architects, interior designers, and other makers impact, visualize, or contribute to food cultures?" We will see how eating and drinking practices help us understand global cultures, making connections between and highlighting the unique perspectives of different nations and societies. This class will look at cutting-edge and traditional food cultures, and will seek to understand how food, its preparation, availability, and marketing, is informed by race, ethnicity, gender, identity, and power. Through written assignments, analysis of visual food culture, presentations, and in-class discussions—as well as field trips and noted guest speakers—students will explore how food impacts every part of our lives. Students will be expected to bring their own interests, background, and knowledge in the effort to help us learn more ourselves and our relationships to food. HAAVC 3000 seminars continue developing students' visual analysis and research skills while providing students the opportunity for in-depth study of the visual/structural artifacts associated with a particular topic, region, or movement. Students will also engage with the relevant primary/secondary literature for the specific topic/theme. Courses will pay particular attention to the larger cultural, historical, and theoretical/ideological contexts in which the visual artifacts and structures under consideration were created. This course cannot fulfill the HAAVC 2000 requirement.

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