Food, Culture, and Power

ANTH 3215
Spring 2015
T, R 11:30-1:00
Andrew Flachs
McMillan 304
aflachs@go.wustl.edu
Office hours Friday 11:00-1:00 or by appointment

What should I eat today? This seemingly simple question transects the fields of health,
environmental studies, economics, history, anthropology, religion, and many others. The foods
we eat, the way we get them, the way we produce them, and the way in which we eat them speak
volumes about our beliefs, our technology, our understanding of how the world works, and our
ability to function within it. That is, food is an excellent way to explore culture. No actions are
more deserving of critical attention than those that we do regularly, without much critical
thought, and most of eat at least two or three times a day. In this class well explore how this
food came to be here, why we like it, and what that says about us.
This course is designed to make you think critically about the food you eat and the way it is
produced. This course is divided into four parts and each week will have a thematic focus. We
will begin at the beginning the origins of agriculture, modern hunting and gathering, and
pastoralism. What did we evolve to eat? Is agriculture better than hunting and gathering?
What does it mean to say that? How should we understand paleo diets and raw food? Then we
will discuss the views of food and agriculture that have informed our modern perception of food
and production. Are there too many people? What does the future of food look like? Why do
some foods make us nauseous while people love them? The third section of the class will
introduce us to the commodity chain the way by which people who do not produce food
themselves eat. How have the history and politics of our economy shaped the way that we eat
globally? How has food been used to understand other cultures? We will conclude by
examining the recent wave of interest in alternatives to that system, questioning how food came
to take such a prominent place in our society after such a long period of neglect. What do
dumpster divers, organic farmers, urban foragers, and locavores have to say about our dinner?
Assignments and Grading: Grading will be based on posting weekly blackboard responses,
questions, or comments on the weeks readings (30% of final grade), a 4.5-5.5 page midterm
paper due February 19th (20%), a 12-15 page final paper due April (30%), and
participation/attendance in class, including leading discussion for one week (20%). Responses
should be one paragraph, summarize the main idea of the weeks readings, and give your take on
the arguments presented. The midterm paper will draw on the readings from the class. The final
paper will be discussed in class but should be 9-12 pages and critically examine a topic from the
course. Deadlines for the paper are staggered and will count as part of your total score: Topic
and presentation (5%), ten source bibliography with paragraph length annotations (10%), and
final paper (85%).

Readings: The following texts will be required:

Pollan, Michael (2008) In Defense of Food. Penguin, New York.

Freidberg, Susanne (2009) Fresh: A Perishable History. Harvard.

Mintz, Sidney (1985) Sweetness and Power. Penguin, New York.

Belasco, Warren (2006) Meals to Come: A History of the Future of Food. Univ Cal Press,
Berkeley.

Pollan, Michael (2006) The Omnivore's Dilemma. Penguin, New York.

Watson, James (2006) Golden Arches East. Stanford University Press, Palo Alto.

Syllabus
Week 1, January 13: Course overview and introduction to food studies.
Mintz, Anthropology of Food and Eating
Nestle, Food Politics, introduction
Week 2, January 20: Origins of Agriculture and early food ecology
Eisenstein First Supper
Hart and Sussman, Man the Hunted
Scarre Explaining Agriculture
Zeder and Smith A Conversation on Agricultural Origins
Larson et al. Current Perspectives and the Future of Domestication Studies
Week 3, January 27: Traditional diets in agriculture, hunting and gathering, and pastoralism
Gladwell, Pima Paradox
Pollan, In Defense of Food, part III
Sahlins, Original Affluent Society
Jabr, How to Really Eat like a Hunter-Gatherer
Week 4, February 3: Thinking about food futurism and population
Belasco, Meals to Come
Malthus, Essay on the Principle of Population, chapter 1
Boserup, The Conditions of Agricultural Growth, introduction

Week 5, February 10: Food taboos and laws: loving people, hating what they eat
Wilk, Loving People, Hating what they Eat
Harris, The Abominable Pig
Douglas, The Abominations of Leviticus
Week 6, February 17: Food, class, status
Watson, Golden Arches East
Roseberry, Yuppie Coffee (skim)
Guthman, Bringing good food to others (skim)
Week 7, February 24: Commodity chains and the foundations of the world system
Mintz, Sweetness and Power
Midterm Paper Due in class Thursday, February 19th
Week 8, March 3: Commodity chains and food in daily life
Friedberg, Excerpts from French Beans and Food Scares
Ettinger, Excerpts from Twinkie, Deconstructed
Bestor, How Sushi Went Global
Week 9, March 10: Industrial agriculture consequences for the how we eat in and for the
international food supply
Barlett, Industrial Agriculture (skim)
Pollan, Omnivore's Dilemma, part I, II
Final Paper Topic Due, Discussed in Class March 10
Week 10, March 17: Spring Break
Week 11, March 24: Comparative nutrition
Earle, Diets and Bodies in Early Colonial Spanish America
Pollan, In Defense of Food, part I
Ninivaggi, Ayurveda
Week 12, March 31: Freshness and desire
Freidberg, Fresh
Benson and Fischer Broccoli and Desire
Week 13, April 7: American Agriculture public health/environmental consequences
Pollan, In Defense of Food, part II

Guthman, Toward a Political Ecology of Fat

Nestle From Eat More to Eat Less
Altieri, Ecological Impacts of Industrial Agriculture
Ten Source Annotated Bibliography Due in Class April 7
Week 14, April 14: Alternative food production and consumption in the USA
Foderaro. New York Moves to Stop Foraging in Citys Parks
Clark, The Raw and the Rotten: Punk Cuisine
Kloppenburg, Coming in to the Foodshed
Veteto and Lockyer, Environmental anthropology engaging permaculture
Week 15, April 21: Paper meetings
Final Paper Due: April 30