96457 - Anthropology of Food

Learning outcomes

The course aims to illustrate the main thematic, theoretical, and methodological issues with regards to the anthropology of food, by investigating a wide range of socio-cultural processes that revolve around the production and consumption of food. By the end of the course, the student will have acquired skills and abilities in critical and anthropological analysis of food-related topics in the contemporary world. 

Course contents

The course will touch on the most important topics in the anthropology of food, focusing on the sacral, ritual, symbolic, and identity-marking meanings of food and drink. Particular attention will be paid to the development of tastes and dislikes between instinct, culture and food systems.

 

The course will be structured as follows: 

1. Course introduction and overview of food anthropology studies - Agriculture, plants of civilisation and mythology - Archaic production systems and the emergence of complex societies.
   
   
2. Paul Rozin: Evolutionary psychology and food choices - Food and structuralism: the nature/culture dichotomy.
   
   
3. Lévi-Strauss: the culinary triangle - Food taboos: Marvin Harris and Mary Douglas.
   
   
4. Taste: subjectivity and social differences - Bourdieu and the social critique of taste - Typical local products and disgust - Food "tribes".
   
   
5. Norbert Elias: the civilising process and good manners - Meat in the West, between feasting and fasting - Fasting and 'holy anorexia'.
   
   
6. The pig between nature, culture, livestock and wildlife - Roy Rappaport and Marcello Massenzio.
   
   
7. The myth of the past: the Paleo-diet - The use of the 'past' in marketing - Anthropology and restaurants.
   
   
8. Anthropology and sociology of banqueting - The Mediterranean diet - Traditional, local and globalisation: delocalisation and food in the global age.
   
   
9. George M. Foster: peasant society and "limited good" - Jack Goody: food and gender - Food, masculine and feminine in the age of social media - Food, cinema and fiction.
   
   
10. Countercuisine and magical uses of food - Extreme dietary practices - Hunger, famine, and survival strategies.
    
    
11. The rise of modern food systems - Sidney Mintz: sugar, the British Empire, the West - Bretton Woods and the rise of multinational corporations.
    
    
12. The impact of COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine on our eating habits.
    

 

Readings/Bibliography

1. A. Koensler e P. Meloni, Antropologia dell’alimentazione. Produzione, consumo, movimenti sociali (Rome: Carocci 2019)

2. A book of your choice from the following:

• M. Montanari, Il cibo come cultura (Rome-Bari: Laterza, 2004)
• E. Moro, La dieta mediterranea. Mito e storia di uno stile di vita (Bologna: il Mulino, 2013)
• M. Niola, Homo dieteticus. Viaggio nelle tribù alimentari (Bologna: il Mulino, 2015)
• F. Lai, Antropologia del cibo nella fiction (Bologna: Patron, 2017)
• E. Moro, M. Niola, Mangiare come Dio comanda (Turin: Einaudi, 2023)

3. Digital resources regarding course lectures (documents, videos and slides) available on Virtuale. 

 

Non-attending students

Non-attending students are required to read the following text in place of the materials presented in class (3): E. Di Renzo, A proposito del gusto. 50 dissertazioni sul cibo e sul vino dal fare quotidiano al Coronavirus (Lucca: Cinquesensi Editore, 2020).

Teaching methods

Lectures, including the presentation of topics, film/video screenings, and readings of documents

Assessment methods

The course will be assessed by an oral exam which will evaluate the quality of oral expression, the knowledge of the course contents, and the critical skills of the student.

The University of Bologna uses a grading scale from 1/30 to a maximum of '30/30 cum laude'. The minimum passing grade is 18/30.

Evaluation Criteria and Grades. Excellent grades will be obtained by students who have attained of a thorough critical knowledge of the topics addressed in lectures and mastery of the specific language of the field. Intermediate grades will result from mnemonic knowledge of the subject matter and from sub-optimal mastery of the specific language with regards to synthesis and analysis. Low marks will be awarded to the students who have a summary knowledge, as well as limited expression and analysis skills. Training gaps, inappropriate language, and lack of familiarity with the bibliographic materials offered during the course will not allow the student to pass the exam.

Teaching tools

Powerpoint slides and papers will integrate the bibliographic materials. 

The teaching materials are available in digital form on the platform Virtuale. Institutional credentials are required to access the platform.

Students who require specific services and adaptations to teaching activities due to a disability or specific learning disorders (SLD), must first contact the appropriate office: Service for Students with Disabilities and SLD (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/it). 

 

Office hours

See the website of Andrea Maraschi