As poet Adrienne Su says, “When we talk about food, we’re talking about culture; whether the topic is bouillabaisse, tandoori chicken, or macaroni and cheese, [even the lowliest dish can illuminate] a larger truth about humanity.” Not only do food conversations cross borders and history, but the current frenzy of food blogging and food performance (celebrity chefs, popup restaurants, food television) has helped create what Ruth Reichl has proclaimed “the golden age of food writing.” Food literature has changed to meet our increasingly sophisticated and international palates, with food comics/graphic novels; cookbooks blending recipes, family stories, photographs and cultural history; food adventure travelogues; memoirs that use a particular food as the organizing principle; and micro-histories investigating the history of foods with the power to start wars. This course will provide a taste (of course!) of food-related film, essays, maps, graphic novels, cultural cookbooks, memoirs, and poems from around the world, from the Old Testament/ancient Rome to the present. Particular attention will be paid to food as a site of immigrant identity, the politics of restaurants, and the current food wars in the Bay Area

Visit Workday to view this information.