An FYS course on how migration has shaped food production, distribution and consumption and in turn, how migrant communities have negotiated heritage, assimilation and resistance through foodways.
4 units
Students enrolled in this course will earn credit for the Fall first year seminar requirement.
Taught by Prof. Puerto
This seminar explores the relationship between food, race, and migration in historical and contemporary U.S. contexts. The course is organized thematically with a fundamental consideration of how and why food has shaped the contours of migrant communities and collective identities. Through Ethnic Studies frames and topics such as cultural memory, labor, agriculture, authenticity, gentrification, and health, we will examine debates about the role of food in assimilation, transculturation, and the interplay of race, class, and gender. Students will also draw connections between migration and the production, distribution and consumption of food. California as a subject of study and a collaborative food justice and migrant rights project will play prominent roles in our studies.
IMAGE: Still from music video, "Strawberry Fields Forever," by Santa Cecilia featuring animation by digital artist, Jose Andres Gutierrez Rivera