Savoring History: The Story of Vietnamese Food Across Regions and Time

This hybrid summer course invites students to explore Vietnam’s rich food heritage as a lens to understand its complex cultural and historical landscape. Through asynchronous online modules and a three-week immersive travel experience across Vietnam, students will trace the evolution of Vietnamese cuisine—from imperial courts to street stalls—and examine how food intersects with memory, identity, colonialism, spirituality, and globalization. We will explore the culinary traditions of different regions—North, Central, and South Vietnam—through texts, media, site visits, cooking workshops, and interviews with local chefs, farmers, and food vendors. Students will be encouraged to reflect on their personal relationship with food and document their cross-cultural experiences in a creative final portfolio.