An examination of Western religious rituals involving food and drink, both
as they have been practiced and rationalized in teaching in various contexts.
Reading, discussion and writing will center on such phenomena as ritual
sacrifice, Dionysian excess, kashruth and the Passover seder, the Eucharist,
religious feast and fasts, the American temperance movement, health food (both
in its 19th-century sectarian manifestation and in its later more pervasively
secular, "New Age" and "simple living" forms) and ethnic "soul
food" (church-supper fare and other identity-conferring dietary practices).
Texts
Elizabeth Carmichael and Chloe Sayer, The Skeleton at the Feast: The
Day of the Dead in Mexico (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1991)
Gillian Feeley-Harnik, The Lord's Table: The Meaning of Food in Early
Judaism and Christianity (Washington and London: Smithsonian Institution
Press, 1981)
Arien Mack, ed., Food: Nature and Culture (Social Research,
66:1, Spring, 1999)Massimo Montanari, The Culture of Food (Oxford,
UK, and Cambridge, USA: Blackwell, 1994)
Colin Spencer, The Heretic's Feast: A History of Vegetarianism
(Hanover and London: University Press of New England, 1995)
Recipes
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the
LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God say, 'You shall not eat
from any tree in the garden'?" The woman said to the serpent, "We may
eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, 'You shall not eat of
the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch
it, or you shall die.'" But the serpent said to the woman, "You will
not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you
will be like God, knowing good and evil." So when the woman saw that the
tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree
was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also
gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.Genesis 3:1-6.
Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will
give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? If you then,
you, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more
will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
Matthew 7:9-11
Here let us feast, and to the feast be join'd/ Discourse, the
sweeter banquet of the mind.Pope's Homer
4. Man ist was man isst.Old German Proberb
Daily Recommended Requirements
Individual stuff:
Attendance -- maximum four absences. Five and above negatively
affect grade.
Journal -- 1 page (8 1/2 x 11) reflection on each reading
assignment, due before class. On occasions of visiting presentation or group
report, the journal entry will be a response to the class, rather than
preparation for it. Full, engaged journals (with no more than 4 entries
missing) can enhance your grade; lacklustre and/or overly slim journals will
hurt it.
Book or Service Site Report -- 4 pp. wordprocessed report plus
participation in a class conversation with students reading similar books (or
working on similar food-related service sites). 30 %
Final take-home essay -- 4 pp., wordprocessed. A chance to put it
all together and demonstrate both digestion of details and incorporation of
perspectives. 20%
Group stuff:
Eucharist or Passover or religiously-based Soup Kitchen visit -- written
up (2-4 pp., wordprocessed) and (informally) presented in class. 30%
Group Report -- 4 pp. wordprocessed analysis of one of the
following: a religious-based group's approach to food; the (implicitly
religious?) approach to food/drink of a secular organization or magazine;
website(s) dealing with food and drink. Also presented informally in class
(scheduled throughout the semester). 20%
Group preparation and presentation of a dish -- sharing of a dish
with religious and/or community meaning that arises out of your group's
conversation. (Required, but not graded -- especially not graded on taste!
Scheduled throughout the semester.)
Menu
Appetizers
JANUARY
18 Getting to know your companions; tasting the subject... 20 Food in
Western Culture. Montanari, "Proposal" and ch. 1 25 Montanari,
chs. 2-3 27 Montanari, ch. 4
FEBRUARY
1 Montanari, chs. 5-6
Antepasto
3 Religion and Culture. Friedlander, Rozin, Visser, in Social Research
Entrees
8 Religion and Food. Encyclopedia of Religion, s.v. "Food"
and "Beverages" [on reserve] 10 Bloch, Doniger, Rawson in Social
Research 15 FILM 17 Feeley-Harnik, chs. 1-2 22 Feeley-Harnik,
chs. 3-4 24 Feeley-Harnik, ch. 5 29 Feeley-Harnik, chs. 6 and Conclusion
MARCH
2 Reading Roundup #1 7 "Noshing is Sacred" --
a discussion of kosher. Reading TBS. 9 The Battle of Carnival
and Lent: Spencer, chs. 6-7 14 Spencer, chs. 8-10 16 11-13
21-23 SPRING BREAK
(Eat Your) Veggies
28 Carmichael and Sayer, Part I 30 Reading Roundup #2
APRIL
4 Carmichael and Sayer, Part II 6 Nestle, Social Research 11
Goldman, Murcott, Social Research 13 Reading Roundup #3
Desserts
18-25 Food-ritual Reports 27 FILM
MAY
2 Concluding Pot-Luck 9 Final Exam period, 2-5 p.m.
Though we will strive to complete the reading, there may be additional visits
and perhaps one field trip: stay tuned.
RELIGIOUS TRADITION(S)? ______________________________________ FAMILY
ETHNIC TRADITION(S)? ______________________________
FOOD RELATED RELIGIOUS MEMORY (OR RELIGIOUSLY RELATED FOOD
MEMORY)?__________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________
A FAVORITE FAMILY DISH:______________________________________________ A
FAVORITE COMFORT FOOD:____________________________________________
SMALL GROUP INTEREST FINDER Please check three food-issues that interest
you. NB: this is low-risk, and does not tie you into a particular project;
rather it just puts you in touch with some congenial companions. _____
Judaism _____ Christianity _____ Health Food _____ Vegetarianism _____
gourmet "spirituality" _____ excess and asceticism _____ food and
justice _____ identity food _____ other? (specify)
_______________________________________________