Let’s Eat, Italy: Italian History and Culture through Food

We are what we eat. This course focuses on Italian traditions and its daily culinary practices to understand how food shaped and continues to shape Italian culture and identity. We will explore the historical, economic and social factors that have influenced the development of a national cuisine. How does food connect memory and identity? Sources considered are family memoirs and cookbooks; political programs of Futurism and Fascism and their relationship to Italian foodways; food representations in literature and cinema. Course will look at Italian - American cuisine and its key role in shaping identities in the new world.