In addition to being necessary for survival, food plays a key role in a number of interdependent systems: water, transportation, politics, economics, labor, gender, and aesthetics, among others. This course uses selected readings, films, class discussions, presentations, and field trips to examine how we produce, distribute, consume, and dispose of food. The Bay Area is an important site of convergence for these systems, particularly the rapidly gentrifying East Bay, which has become both a haven and a battleground for food policy.Together we consider food as a constructor of contemporary culture, spaces, systems, and identity. The course concludes with a conceptual group meal that will allow each student to explore and present their particular perspective on food as culture.Social Science and History (SSHIS) courses develop students' critical thinking skills through the study of history and the social sciences (e.g. sociology, psychology, economics, political science, anthropology, geography), as well as through contemporary interdisciplines that draw heavily on these fields (e.g. feminist and queer studies, media studies, urban studies, ethnic studies). Subject matter in these courses contributes to students' cultural literacy while instructional materials and classroom assignments introduce basic research problems and techniques.

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