Project Description

The academic study of food matters now more than ever. Once the discourse only of anthropologists, food has become a growing area of research and discussion in disciplines ranging from sociology to biology, literature to politics. As the image below suggests, the connections between food and agriculture, economics, human health and culture are both complex and crucially important in a world of both abundance and scarcity, climate change and border disputes, vanishing cultures and broadening appreciation for all things indigenous and local.

In this Kahn, we invite scholars of food from across the liberal arts curriculum (as well as those who have an emerging scholarly interest in the topic) to join us in a collaborative and sometimes hands-on exploration of this subject. Our goal is to address questions that resonate across many fields: What are the intersections of food production, preparation and consumption with those of sustainability, economic development, and agriculture? How does food change after (im)migration? How does food impact identity formation, cultural belonging and resistance to assimilation? How do we analyze local vs. organic, slow food vs. fast food, nostalgia, and representation? How can we preserve food memory, as well as food itself? From where do recipes emerge and what is the socio-cultural importance of a cookbook? What are the intersecting aspects of a just and equitable food system and climate change? In the spirit of Kahn, we also welcome those whose work runs against the “liberal” political grain of the academy, arguing, for example, for the value of synthetic foods or critiquing the slow foods movement.

Where does your food interest fit into our chart? How can we enlarge the questions and categories with your own interest? Join us in thinking about food in all its dimensions.

Project Fellows

• T. Susan Chang, English Language and Literature
• Andrew Cox, Dining Services
• Amy Cox Hall, Anthropology, Amherst College
• Lois Dubin, Religion
• Sara Eddy, Jacobson Center
• Susannah Howard '19, Geosciences
• Mona Kulp, Chemistry
• Roberto Ludovico, Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
• Kristina Mereigh, Wellness Services
• Suleiman Mourad, Religion
• Pat O'Hara, Chemistry, Amherst College
• Noa Randall ’19, Engineering
• Thomas Rohlich, East Asian Languages and Literatures
• Nancy Sternbach, Spanish and Portuguese, Organizing Fellow
• Dominique Thiebaut, Computer Science
• Elsa Weintraub ’19, Environmental Science and Policy
• Paul Wetzel, Center for the Environment (CEEDS), Organizing Fellow
• Emily Whittier '19, Study of Women and Gender
• Lark Wicinas '19, Environmental Science and Policy
• Joel Wolfe, History, University of Massachusetts, Amherst