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Semester 2

The social life of food (SCIL10081)

Subject

Sociology

College

CAHSS

Credits

20

Normal Year Taken

3

Delivery Session Year

2023/2024

Pre-requisites

Visiting students must have completed at least 2 Social Science courses (i.e. Sociology, Politics, Social Policy, Social Anthropology, African Studies, American Studies, Gender/Queer Studies) at grade B or above. We will only consider University/College level courses. **Please see Additional Restrictions below**

Course Summary

Food has long been, and will continue to be, an intense socio-cultural, material, ethical and political issue. Taking sustainability as a specific lens, the course examines what we eat, how we eat, where food comes from, and goes, what food is wasted, who gets to eat and grow food, how food brings us together and how food divides us, who is excluded or disadvantaged at different points in the process of producing, consuming and wasting food. Sustainability is introduced as pertinent not only to the environment, but also to people. Food appears in the course: - as good to think (and act) with; - as an area of debate and inquiry in its own right; - as a force which acts on us and on the world; - as a site where we can explore the use of, and apply, key concepts in social science study as varied as globalization; industrialization; colonialism; inequality and social justice; family relations and sociability; the body; nature/culture dualisms and posthumanism (the course is thus in dialogue with quite a few other Sociology honours courses).

Course Description

The course provides a framework for understanding key concepts and contemporary debates about food, as well as critically evaluating how past, current and future food-related issues are framed and dealt with locally and globally. In particular we ask: what is food and where has it come from? Can we measure food? How does food act on us? Has food anything to do with government? Who can grow food and where? Who do we eat with and who is not at the table? How could food be different? Can food be 'sustained' and is there a politics of food?

Assessment Information

Written Exam 0%, Coursework 100%, Practical Exam 0%

Additional Restrictions

This course is high-demand, meaning that there is a very high number of students wishing to enrol in a very limited number of spaces. Enrolment is managed by the Visiting Student Office, in line with the quotas allocated by the departments, and all enquiries to enrol in these courses must be made through the CAHSS Visiting Student Office. It is NOT appropriate for students to contact the department directly to request additional spaces.

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