Miranda Brown, Asian Languages and Cultures | 2018-2019
ASIAN 258 (Food and Drink of Asia) examine the past and present of Asian food and drink. It begins with an examination of the foods and drinks that have united various peoples both within Asia and across Eurasia, including tea, pancakes, flatbreads, dumplings, soy products, cheese, and noodles. It then moves to foods and drinks that have historically divided peoples along ethnic, class, and religious lines: dog meat, pork, beef, and MSG. The final part of the class will investigate foods that define people as members of national or ethnic groups: dim sum, curry, sushi, pad thai, and spring rolls. Class assignments will require students to energetically execute the required readings, to reconstruct the histories of various recipes, and to get their hands dirty with food preparation and etiquette training. No prior knowledge of Asian history, language, or cooking required. All welcome.
The goals of the class are threefold
● To provide a holistic study of the historical, economic, and cultural connections between regions of Asia, on the one hand, and Asia and the world, on the other
● To supply students with a rudimentary understanding of food studies, an emerging field in cultural studies and historical scholarship.
● To give students an introduction to regions of Asia that are less well known, particularly Southeast Asia
Please find the syllabus here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1O9OP0aB6TPuXKc275dXmU0pEx-vg31R07Q00w0Bh8nM/edit?usp=sharing