For the first time in its history, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences will offer a University Course that will be open to all undergraduate, professional and graduate students and similarly taught by professors from across the University.
Titled “Food Studies: Interdisciplinary Approaches to How, Why, and What We Eat”, this pilot course will begin Spring 2012 and will be co-taught by faculty from different disciplines and institutes, including the Duke Divinity School and the Center for Documentary Studies. The objective of the course is to explore various interdisciplinary issues related to food, which is a topic relevant to all students.
“The course will focus on attitudes about food in America, the proponents and critics of the local food movement, food advertising, food consumption, environmental movements and food practices, food resources and engineering, among many other topics,” Dean of Arts and Sciences Laurie Patton, who initiated the course, wrote in an email Monday.
The topic will accommodate faculty and students with a variety of academic interests, said Charles Thompson, director of undergraduate studies at the Center for Documentary Studies, lecturer in the Department of Cultural Anthropology and one of the co-lecturers of the course.
“Because everyone consumes food, everyone is part of the system and can get involved in this topic,” Thompson said. “To work on this topic, we really need a variety of skills and background.”
The course will feature lectures from professors from every school at Duke as well as small-group discussions. Both the lectures and discussions will be held at the Refectory Cafe in the Divinity School. Food associated with the course content will be offered at times.
By bringing together faculty and students from different disciplines, the University Course aims to provide an opportunity for people with different academic backgrounds to learn from and challenge one another, said Lee Baker, dean of academic affairs of Trinity College.
“We seek to provide an integrative learning experience where students with different perspectives, experiences, and expertise can contribute to an environment of learning,” Baker wrote in an email Monday.
In addition to facilitating interdisciplinary conversations among faculty and students, the course will also generate a sense of solidarity between different Duke communities.
“This practice not only creates intellectual community but enacts a sense of common purpose across the diverse communities that convene under the Duke banner,” Patton said.
Thompson said that though the course mainly focuses on the general introduction to different aspects of food studies, the course will keep a balance between generalism and specialism with emphasis on inquiry through conversation.
“The course will lay a foundation of food issues, but more importantly, it is all about conversation.” Thompson said. “You may be working on the politics related to food all the time, and it will be inspiring to listen to someone from Law School describing his work pertaining to the food studies.”
Korrine Terroso, a freshman who has already taken a class related to food studies, said the interdisciplinary approach taken by the University Course will be helpful to students.
“It can be a continuation of what I have learned from different perspectives,” Terroso said, adding that lecturers from different disciplines were a major attraction.
The course is cross-listed in three departments—Documentary Studies, Women’s Studies and Cultural Anthropology—and has a total capacity of 75 students. The course will be 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. every Tuesday.
“The vast majority will be undergraduates, and we are hoping that 20 percent will be a mix of grad and professional students,” Baker said. “Some of the classes will be open to the university community—like a public lecture.”
This type of course is unprecedented at Duke.
“Nothing has happened quite like this here at Duke,” Thompson said. “Everyone will learn something from it, whether faculty or students.”
If the course turns out to be a success, further steps will be taken to institutionalize it, Baker said.
Adrian Macias, a second-year graduate student at Sanford School of Public Policy, said this course offers a valuable opportunity to initiate academic conversation with scholars from all over the University.
“[Through conversations] we can recognize that we share the same spirits and care about the same issues,” Macias said. “The course enables students from different units to interact in an atmosphere beyond sports events.”
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