Core (5 courses, 15 credit hours)

Examines philosophical, sociological, econcomic, and cultural issues related to the production and consumption of food. From Agrarianism to the Green Revolution, explores the transformations of industrialization, technology, and migration. Provides foundation in food systems and commodity chains as concepts and methodological tools for uncovering the relationship between communities, agriculture, markets, and consumers.

If food is a basic human right, how do societies create universal access to food? What is the moral ethical basis for making citizens food secure in an age of global inequality? To what extent does providing food access need to consider culturally appropriateness, nutrition, and sustainability, and justice?

Provides an overview of food and diet in transnational history, emphasizing cultural impact of modernity of food gathering, farming, plant biology, the body and consumption, health, taste, and cuisine. Topics include the development of agriculture, the causes of famine, the disruptions of colonialism, global exchange, industrialization, migration, and commercial economic dominance of the food system.

Introduction to social science research methods applicable to the study of food and culture. Practicum includes ethnography, interviews, focus groups, survey research, oral history, textual analysis, cultural mapping, and visual methods. Applied approach to research: students will procude data for practical use in existing community or commercial projects.

Course provides supervision and research guidance for Master‘s thesis or projects in Food Studies. Students will have instruction in data analysis, writing for public presentation and publication, professional development workshops, and community development issues.

This course provides students with a solid foundation of the principles and applications of GIS, an introduction to the desktop software ArcGIS, and demonstrates its use in the public sectors related to food, agriculture, and resource use. Students will have the flexibility to focus on their particular area of interest through project work.

Applied Electives (10 credit hours)

Through working on Chatham's Eden Hall Campus farm as well as neighboring farms, students will integrate best practices for sustainable agriculture with theory encountered in class. Topics will include basic principles of soil fertility, biodiversity, agriculture history, affects of both conventional and organic agriculture, and the politics surrounding the issues.

This course is a co-requisite to FST520, Growing Sustainably, and comprises the experiential lab component of the course. Students will engage in sustained research on sustainable agricultural projects, from biodynamic methods to soil or pest management comparatives. Course may be taken up to four times for credit.

Students work collectively to collaborate with one client on a real world problem to provide an analysis of a complex food-related public policy issue. Projects include business plan for food-based social enterprise; production/distribution models for urban farm operations; researching solutions for bringing fresh food into low-income, historically disadvantaged communities.

Through hands-on production, tastings, lectures, students learn basics of fermentation,winemaking principles and practices, sensory evalution through tastings, viticulture history, wine regions and types, winemaking methods, chemistry and winery operations. Local production includes root beer, beer, sake, local meade and vinegar. Emphasis will be on sustainable viniculture practices and local/global links.

As part of sustainable agriculture and culinary knowledge, understanding meat production outside the conventional large scale processing facilities is a critical skill for students who will work with restaurants, farm markets, and other distribution venues.

Internship placement will focus on local nonprofits, advocacy group, community projects, food companies, farms, co-ops, food producers, and policy agencies. Directed experience can include developing products, community knowledge, food system data, or promotional materials.

Internship placement will focus on local nonprofits, advocacy group, community projects, food companies, farms, co-ops, food producers, and policy agencies. Directed experience can include developing products, community knowledge, food system data, or promotional materials.

Students engage in semester long field work and internships. Class meetings address ethical, logistical, and intellectual issues of community-based work in Food Studies. Site-based project development and implementation occurs in supervised and collaborative settings. Individual meetings with professor provide career development and advance research proposal skills.

Science Electives (1 course, 3 credit hours)

Course provides an overview of nutrition as an evidence-based research field, focusing on groups and communities where research is conducted and then applied. Topics include science and politics of food categories; supplements and functional foods; weight and disordered eating, commercial, local, organic, and conventional foods; cuisine, culture, and diet.

This studio is the first in a sequence of design studios focusing on concepts, skills, and methods of design. This course introduces the student to the basic vocabulary and theoretical principles of the design process, with oral, written, and graphic project presentations relative to the natural environment. Cross listed as LAR 541

Concentrations

Choose 4 courses, 12 credit hours. Up to one course may be substituted per concentration with permission of the Program Director.

Examines how contemporary agricultural era is characterized by the simultaneous existence of radically different farming systems within the same region. Course explores prior examples historically and regionally. Focus is then on what makes the contemporary agricultural age different, including respect for 'traditional' approaches as viable 'alternatives'; social and scientific research supporting alternatives; farmers/practitioner awareness of options ;and consumer-citizens driven awareness and advocacy.

Meat is one of the most prized and problematic aspects of our food system. It is one of the key issues in environmental degradation through agriculture, but it is also the most celebrated component of new sustainable food initiatives. Large scale meat consumption can signal either a rise or decline in overall global health. This course will examine the culture, politics, history, and contemporary debates about the production and consumption of animals by humans.

In this class the student will learn both history and current practices related to food and agriculture as economic enterprises in the United States and the world. Skills include ability to understand strategic management principles including identifying target markets, niche marketing, SWOT analysis and diffusion of innovation theory. Students will be able to develop a business plan including understanding barriers of entry, compiling demographic data, developing feasibility studies, long and short term business goals, define and calculate a breakeven point, and budget formulation.

Examines how contemporary agricultural era is characterized by the simultaneous existence of radically different farming systems within the same region. Course explores prior examples historically and regionally. Focus is then on what makes the contemporary agricultural age different, including respect for 'traditional' approaches as viable 'alternatives'; social and scientific research supporting alternatives; farmers/practitioner awareness of options ;and consumer-citizens driven awareness and advocacy.

Students will develop technique and skills for writing about food and culture by studying ethics; journalism; advertising, multimodal and new technology venues; recipe writing; food criticism; writing about food in a variety of genres from history to fiction, magazines, and websites. Course emphasizes both print and online media.

Food is elemental to survival, culture, home, and subjectivity - to rituals of love, oloss, and celebration. Focusing on representations of food and eating in spiritual narratives, epic texts, myth, novels, and film, this class examines the cultural work food performs along with the varying meanings assigned to food and eating.

Students will develop technique and skills for writing about food and culture by studying ethics; journalism; advertising, multimodal and new technology venues; recipe writing; food criticism; writing about food in a variety of genres from history to fiction, magazines, and websites. Course emphasizes both print and online media.