Postgraduate Module Descriptor


HISM041: Food and Agriculture in Historical Perspective

This module descriptor refers to the 2024/5 academic year.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

The module will be structured as a reading and discussion seminar. The following themes will likely be covered, with minor variation from year to year depending upon the availability and current research of lecturers contributing to the module:

  • The Agricultural Revolution: Causes and Consequences
  • The domestication of animals, and pastoralism
  • Food in Antiquity
  • Early modern agricultural markets
  • The Columbian exchange and the globalisation of food 
  • Cultures of cooking and dining in the early modern period
  • Devon food history
  • The industrialisation of agriculture
  • Food preservation and food safety through time
  • The nutrition transition

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching ActivitiesGuided independent studyPlacement / study abroad
222780

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled learning and teaching2211 x 2-hour weekly seminar
Guided independent study5011 x 2-hour weekly seminar
Guided independent study2010 x 2-hour weekly preparation of reading response papers
Guided independent study208Research and writing of essay

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).