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WiSe 20/21: Food Studies: An introduction, with emphasis on the cultural history of food in Berlin

Susanne Scharnowski

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Subject: Food is not just necessary to keep us alive. It is a crucial part of all cultures and societies: What and how we eat plays a role in the formation and confirmation of individual and group identity and social cohesion. How food is produced and consumed is an economical, environmental, ethical, and political issue. Studying food from an interdisciplinary angle, considering social, cultural, environmental, ethical, economical and political aspects, therefore gives us access to some key aspects of our civilisation. And Berlin is a very good point to start the study of food: Between 1870 and 1945, when it was one of the main German industrial centres and the most American city of Europe, the city’s modernity became manifest in countless innovations in the production and consumption of food. Additionally, ever since the beginning of industrialisation, migrants from different parts of the world have brought their food cultures to Berlin. And since 2010, Berlin has, once again, become a hotbed for new food trends: It has been named the “the vegan Mecca” and the “vegetarian capital” of the world; food activists campaign against food waste, for regional and organic food or for ethical eating. Program: The first session won’t take place in the seminar room; you will receive instructions and guidelines for the first week by e-mail (through Campus Management, mails sent to your zedat mail account.) Using Berlin as a point of departure and as an example, this course will introduce the students to interdisciplinary food studies. Based on presentations by the lecturer as well as academic texts, we will examine food in Berlin since the 19th century. Sadly, because of the Coronavirus, it is not yet clear whether we will be able to visit an exhibition about the cultural history of food at Domäne Dahlem. Finally, the students will do group research on food projects, eating places and initiatives in present-day Berlin – either field research or research based on texts and online materials – and present their findings either in class or online. Is this course right for you? This course is open to students from all academic fields. Nevertheless, you should be prepared to study a number of academic texts in English from the social sciences, cultural history and cultural studies. You should be interested in reflecting critically on eating habits and food preferences in a cultural, social, political and environmental context, and you should be prepared to do some (field) research on a specific aspect of contemporary Berlin food culture in a working group and present and discuss the findings. Workload and Assessment: In order to obtain 5 ECTS credits, you have to study the course materials (an average of 15 pages per week) and engage with them in various forms, produce a presentation as a group and pass the final written examination (take home exam or classic written exam). close