Undergraduate Module Descriptor

ANT3014: Cultures: Food

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Aims

This module is intended to introduce you to the social scientific study of food production, preparation and consumption. It reviews and evaluates the major ways of understanding the relations between food, culture and society. In so doing, it also introduces you to how anthropologists, sociologists and others conceptualise and research cultural and social forces and phenomena more generally.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the subject matter of anthropology (and sociology) of food, together with an analytical understanding of the subject matter, which takes into account diverse anthropological and sociological perspectives 2. describe and apply a variety of means of conceptualising and investigating the socio-cultural aspects of food
Discipline-Specific Skills	3. critically relate a body of knowledge to specific contexts within the field of anthropology; 4. think clearly and argue logically and convincingly about the socio-cultural dimensions of food; 5. express coherent anthropological (and sociological) ideas both in writing and verbally;
Personal and Key Skills	6. undertake independent study concerning the subject matter of the course 7. select appropriately from a range of suggested material and present key arguments clearly and convincingly; 8. develop the capacity to reflect critically on the various analytic perspectives presented in the course

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

What is food and how do anthropologists study it?
Food and the Making and Unmaking of Bodies
Commensality and Social Bodies
Food in Diaspora
The Birth of Agriculture and its Industrialization
Famine, Food Poverty, Food Security and the State
Trade and the Globalization of Agriculture and Food
Food safety and sustainability
Alternatives Food Systems:
Food as Traditional Knowledge and Cultural Heritage

Learning and Teaching

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

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
27.5	122.5	0

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

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity	15	1.5 hour lectures x 10 weeks
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity	1.5	Revision session
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity	11	Weekly 1 hour tutorials
Guided Independent Study	55	11 x 5 hours reading for tutorials (2 readings x 2.5 hours per tutorial)
Guided Independent Study	16.5	Preparing response papers
Guided Independent Study	51	Exam Preparation

Online Resources

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