070194 KU Global Studies (2013S)

This seminar explores the relationship between food and society in global history. Food plays an important role in the formation of cultural identity; in the determination of concepts of purity and pollution; in the articulation of religious membership; and in the formation of the body politic. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, we will adopt analytical methods drawn from anthropology, history, sociology, political theory, and the natural sciences. The prohibition on beef-eating in Hinduism and the terms halal in Islam and kosher in Judaism remind us that food is the central arena where rituals of purity and pollution are regulated in different religious communities. We will also consider the historical connections between food and the social contract by looking at particular case studies that will illustrate the links between food and socio-political formations: potatoes and population; sugar and slavery; bread and revolution. While certain foods have become associated with ‘national’ identity, this seminar will argue that what we eat is not only highly symbolic but the culmination of global historical forces.

Before enrolling in this seminar, consult your diary and make sure you can attend on Monday 6th May 2013 AND Tuesday 7th May 2013.