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News Release
Office of News and Information
Johns Hopkins University
901 South Bond Street, Suite 540
Baltimore, Maryland 21231
Phone: 443-287-9960 | Fax: 443-287-9898
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February 24, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Amy Cowles
amycowles@jhu.edu
443-287-9904
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JHU Course Catalog: Do You Want
Fries with That?
The course: |
Do you want fries with that? A History of
Food and Eating in America.
An exploration of anthropological perspectives on food
consumption in contemporary America. Limited to 25
students. 3 credits. Department of
Anthropology,
cross-listed with Public Health Studies. |
The instructor: |
Felicity S. Northcott, senior lecturer in
anthropology; associate director,
Institute for Global
Studies in Culture, Power, and History. Named outstanding
teacher in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences in 2002
by the Johns Hopkins Alumni Association.
Teaching assistant: Holly Martin of Houghton, Mich..
Martin is a senior majoring in international studies. |
Syllabus: |
Students are involved in ongoing field
projects such as surveying the buying and eating habits of
customers at local grocery stores in two Baltimore
neighborhoods. Pairs of student presenters lead the
discussion each week based on the assigned readings. Topics
include how public transportation affects eating habits and
access to fresh foods, how to address the illusion that
fast food is cheaper than homecooking and how powerful
nations exploit developing countries for their natural
resources.
Not surprisingly, plenty of food made its way into a
recent meeting of the class. The first pair of presenters
stepped up to the plate by circulating two dozen Krispy
Kreme doughnuts at the start of class. Yogurt, muffins,
cold noodle salad and Snackwell's cookies were also noshed
during the session. The final class on Wednesday, April 28,
will be marked with The All Soy Barbecue in the campus'
Decker Garden. |
Coursework: |
Requirements include a 10-page research
paper on students' favorite processed comfort food,
uncovering the origins of its ingredients as well as how
it's made and marketed; a food diary filled with everything
the student consumed during a five-day period; and a eating
history questionnaire to be given to a friend or relative
over 60. During spring break, students will also conduct a
soy food inventory at a grocery store in their
hometowns. |
Required reading: |
Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar
in Modern History, by Johns Hopkins professor emeritus
and renowned food scholar Sidney Mintz, who has visited the
class
Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences
Nutrition and Health, by Marion Nestle
Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the
World, by Greg Crister
Food Nations: Selling Taste in Consumer Societies
(Hagley Perspectives on Business and Culture), by
Warren James Belasco and Philip Scranton
Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser
The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair
The Penguin Atlas of Food: Who Eats What, Where and
Why, by Erik Millstone and Tim Lang
Other assorted readings |
Overheard in class: |
"This course is about the politics of food
— it starts somewhere and ends up on your table, but
who are the people in between?" |
Students say: |
"The food policies of the United States
and abroad have a distinct geopolitical impact and are
crucial to the understanding of our world as we know it.
Many decisions and policies are constructed on the basis of
how certain food industries will be impacted. Dr.
Northcott's course analyzes what we consume, why we consume
it, and how we have been influenced to eat."
—Grapevine, Texas, resident Anand Veeravagu, a junior
majoring in biomedical engineering
"In addition to the subject matter, I was actually
drawn to the class because of Dr. Northcott ... I really
enjoy her frankness, willingness to listen to students, and
her passionate but humble style of teaching. She really
encourages people to think for themselves and to discuss
the issues at hand. Assuming your mind is not closed to
thinking about things in new ways, the way you think about
things will be changed after spending a semester in one of
her classes."
— David Stout, who says he is reducing
his meat consumption based on what he is learning in class
about the effort and money that goes into its
production. |
Meeting time: |
Wednesdays from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Spring
2004 |
Members of the media interested
in writing about this class should contact Amy Cowles at
443-287-9960. |
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