Art and Politics of Food

Food is central to histories of migration and globalization, work and leisure, inequality and reparative justice, industrialization and environmental health. This seminar investigates how current political movements that are responsive to these histories intersect with food as a site for creative expression and artistic experimentation.

Through this lens, the course explores diverse visions of food systems and food cultures in the U.S. Seminar topics include agribusiness and biotechnology, food and farm labor, environmental and climate justice, public health, ethnic cuisine, restaurant culture and culinary innovation. The seminar investigates these topics via a range of primary materials: documentary film, advertising, journalism, activist ephemera, culinary writing and visual and performance art. Secondary materials connect methods and ideas from American studies and the environmental humanities to the field of critical food studies