FOOD FOR THOUGHT: AN INTERSECTIONAL APPROACH
Approaches human relationships with food from micro to macro levels. Considers personal and interpersonal relationships with food, examining the social, cultural, and political meanings of food at various intersections of identity (gender, race, class, ability, age, etc.), and within different institutions such as family, education, and religion. Asks questions about personal/individual responsibility in relation to food, and the role of communities, municipalities, governments, and global entities in determining what people eat and how. Explores the gendered, raced, and classed politics of food systems; questions of sovereignty, sustainability, access, regulation, dissemination, and policy making. Examines the cultural, ecological, and economic implications of the ways food is perceived, produced, and consumed across cultures.
Prerequisites & course information
Requisites: Sophomore standing Course Designation: Core GenEd - Social & Behavioral Science Breadth - Social Science Level - Intermediate L&S Credit - L&S Liberal Arts and Science Grad 50% - Counts toward 50% graduate coursework requirement Repeatable for Credit: No Last Taught: Spring 2026 Learning Outcomes: 1. Create a foundation of knowledge to support further academic work and civic engagement in food sovereignty/food justice movements Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 2. Define food justice and explore where and how it connects to ourselves and our communities Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 3. Identify the different actors in food politics and the varying/conflicting ideas and intentions around food production, distribution, and access as it relates to equity Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 4. Report on current food justice issues by analyzing the obstacles that create them Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 5. Research and describe local, regional, and global social movements and policies around food politics and food justice Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 6. Articulate various theoretical frameworks as they relate to food, identity politics, and intersectionality and use them in application of concrete ideas Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 7. Think, observe, and write critically and analytically and engage thoughtfully in analytic (rather than simply opinionated!) discussions Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 8. Apply pertinent theoretical and empirical evidence necessary to make critical and analytical arguments about gender and food politics through an intersectional lens Audience: Graduate 9. Articulate key issue areas of food justice and relate these issue areas to your area of disciplinary graduate level research Audience: Graduate Learning Outcomes: 1. Create a foundation of knowledge to support further academic work and civic engagement in food sovereignty/food justice movements Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 2. Define food justice and explore where and how it connects to ourselves and our communities Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 3. Identify the different actors in food politics and the varying/conflicting ideas and intentions around food production, distribution, and access as it relates to equity Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 4. Report on current food justice issues by analyzing the obstacles that create them Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 5. Research and describe local, regional, and global social movements and policies around food politics and food justice Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 6. Articulate various theoretical frameworks as they relate to food, identity politics, and intersectionality and use them in application of concrete ideas Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 7. Think, observe, and write critically and analytically and engage thoughtfully in analytic (rather than simply opinionated!) discussions Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 8. Apply pertinent theoretical and empirical evidence necessary to make critical and analytical arguments about gender and food politics through an intersectional lens Audience: Graduate 9. Articulate key issue areas of food justice and relate these issue areas to your area of disciplinary graduate level research Audience: Graduate
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026-2027