ANTH 363 – Syllabus

Food, Wine, and Culture of Tuscany

Food is a topic that every individual, no matter his/her background, has personally experienced; it is so common that its cultural connotations tend to be overlooked. The cuisines of Italy are not just about sustenance but about cultural symbols that bind people together in ritual and community. How one participates in the act of eating, and when certain foods are to be prepared are learned and understood at the table. By travelling to different parts of Tuscany, students have a unique opportunity to study by direct experience; in addition to learning through the usual complementary written resources. Visiting food producers and markets brings the local and global food network into focus. As well, by cooking, students come to appreciate and understand cooks and kitchens, and recipes and dishes.

Students are expected to actively participate in all scheduled activities and engage in discussions directed by their instructor(s) and/or with local guides.

Learning Outcomes:

  • Writing across the curriculum
  • Applying anthropological knowledge and field methods to a particular setting
  • Develop team-building and collaborative skills
  • Increase critical thinking, especially in relation to the role tourism plays in marketing the history, food and culture of Italy
  • Increase self-awareness of cultural similarities/differences
  • Increase awareness of the slow food movement and its global impact
  • Identify Tuscan wines, foods and food preparation techniques
  • Gain a broader knowledge of food culture and products that are unique to Italy, including their history
  • Learn to prepare and serve a number of traditional Italian dishes

Assignment overview:

Not submitting an assignment will result in an “F”; your final grade is based on completing ALL course work.

Required texts:
Counihan, Carole M.
2004    Around the Tuscan Table: Food, Family and Gender in Twentieth-Century Florence. New York, NY: Routledge.   GT 2850 C683 2004 & WEBLIBRARY

Diner, Hasia R.
2001    Hungering for America: Italian, Irish, and Jewish Foodways in the Age of Migration. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. WEBLIBRARY

Flower, Raymond, and Alessandro Falassi
2008   CultureShock! Italy. Singapore, SGP: Marshall Cavendish. WEBLIBRARY

Gioseffi, Claudia, Barbara Szerlip, and Tom Watson
2001   Passport Italy: Your Pocket Guide to Italian Business, Customs & Etiquette. Novato, CA: World Trade Press.  WEBLIBRARY

Petrini, Carlo
2001    Slow Food: The Case for Taste. New York, NY: Columbia University Press. WEBLIBRARY

ANTH 363 Online Resources

Field School Checklist for Departure

Our OFFICIAL Blog!!

All readings are available online.  Refer to the texts above; titles are linked to the VIU Library.  Two web sources are listed for the Counihan text; if you like the feel of a book in your hand, this is also available in print form.

Pre-departure Seminars and Readings
DATE TOPIC
Mar 16 Jennifer Sills, Education Abroad Manager
Pre-departure issues and advice
23 FILM:  Big Night (1997, 109 min.) [COWICHAN PN 1997 B5577 1997]
Timpano Recipe 1
Timpano Recipe 2
30 What is Italian cuisine?
READ: Diner, Chs.2-3; Flower & Falassi, Ch.6
Traditional Regional Italian Cuisine (Academia Barilla)
Regional Italian Food Products (Academia Barilla)
Apr 13 Florentine cuisine and culture
Slow food
READ: Counihan, Chs.2-4,10; Petrini Chs.1-2
EU – Designated Food Products Database (DOOR): Italy
Top Emilia-Romagna Foods: DOP & IGP
Top Tuscan Foods: DOP & IGP
20 Vancouver day trip: Bella Gelateria, Little Italy
Acknowledgement of Responsibility Form
27 Cultural norms / Culture shock
READ: Flower & Falassi, Chs.1,3,4, pp.212-14, 261-63;
Gioseffi et al, Chs.14-19.
A Short Lexicon of Italian Gestures
Travel Tips: Culture Shock

NOTE: Unexpected events are possible while in Italy; be prepared to be flexible!!

Italy
DATES ACCOMMODATION / ACTIVITIES
May 2-5 Florence: Ostello Villa Camerata
May 6-10 Florence: Ostello Santa Monaca
May 11-14 Certaldo: Fattoria Bassetto
May 15-17 Florence: Casa Santo Nome di Gesu

  • Aperitivo [optional]
  • “Free” day – visit museums, finish on-site assignment note-taking, etc.
  • San Spirito Market [organic, every third Sunday of the month]
May 18-21 Parma: Ostello Parma
May 22-26 Optional – Milan: Hostel Colours

* * Assignments and journal are DUE: Friday, June 26, 3pm * *

Nanaimo – VIU
TBD De-brief

NOTE:

  • Use of technology: Cell phones, iPods and other electronic devices must be turned off in class and laptops are permitted during class ONLY for note taking. Recording is only permitted by request as authorised by Disability Services. Please contact Disability Services if you are in need of academic support and accommodation.
  • If there are exceptional and/or extenuating circumstances, such as illness or a death in the family, that prevents you from being present for an exam, or submitting an assignment, etc., please notify me as soon as possible so that other arrangements can be made. (See VIU Calendar, General Regulations.)
  • Should you need counselling at any time during the semester, contact Student Affairs. Drop-in counselling is available. If immediate support is needed after hours, call the Crisis & Information Line: 1-888-494-3888. As well, there is a Walk-in Counselling Clinic, Brooks Landing (203-2000 Island Highway North), Nanaimo: 250-739-5710
  • Withdrawing from any VIU course MUST be done formally, that is, by applying at the Registration Centre.
  • All in-coming mail is spam-filtered. Identify the course name in the “Subject” box when emailing your instructor. Also, add your instructor to your “accepted” email address file.

Final grade assignment:
Grades will be assigned according to the following scale:

90-100 A+ 64-67 C+
85-89 A 60-63 C
80-84 A- 55-59 C-
76-79 B+ 50-54 D
72-75 B <49 F
68-71 B-

Activism is the rent I pay for living on the planet.
–Alice Walker, author (b. 9 Feb 1944)


Created 2015-03-16; last updated 2015-04-28