FOODSCAPES IN ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY

This course is part of the Minor in the Environmental Humanities and is open to all Ca' Foscari BA students.

Students will learn the necessary skills and knowledge to analyse and contextualise foodscapes in their historical, social, and cultural dimensions through the study of archaeological evidence and artistic depictions of some important plant species and their use in Eurasia and North Africa from antiquity to today. At the end of the course, students will be knowledgeable about the environmental and social aspects of the main agricultural systems and culinary traditions in Eurasia. Special attention will be given to the multiple ways in which individuals and societies interact with their surrounding environment for the production and consumption of plants. Students will acquire new perspectives about long-term agricultural production, globalization, sustainability and food security.

None. Information on key historical events and cultural background of the topics and areas studied will be provided beforehand to students. The course will be taught in Italian, however, a reading knowledge of English is recommended to those students who wish to expand the discussion through suggested readings (not mandatory).

The study of food is an essential part of the Environmental Humanities. The analysis of food systems is an interdisciplinary field of study which includes methods from History, Art History, Geography, Botany, Archaeobotany, Archaeology and much more. This course will employ an interdisciplinary approach based on the study of archaeological and artistic evidence to reconstruct the production and consumption of plants in Eurasia from antiquity to today. The main goal of this course is to understand the main historical and social developments of the past millennia in Eurasia through the lens of the plants spread and use, in particular through the analysis of how the spread of plants outside their native range impacted changes in the local ecology, society, and culture. The course will cover agricultural trajectories through time, with special focus on the domestication and dispersal of staple crops, as well as the diversified uses people made of these species through time and space. Special attention will be given to the link between food and identity, and students will be encouraged to reflect upon how modern culinary cultures have been formed. Given the introductory nature of the course, and to allow the attendance of this course to students with different educational backgrounds, the approach will be highly interdisciplinary and lectures will cater to the specific needs of the students enrolled. Students will be encouraged to use their personal interests and backgrounds to explore ancient and modern foodscapes.

A reading list will be provided before the start of the course. All requested readings will be available online on Moodle before each lecture.

The final exam will be a short essay (2/3 pages including bibliography) on a chosen topics from those discussed in class. Short oral presentations will be held (either individual or group presentations) during class, these do not count toward the final grade.

Lectures and discussions on the assigned texts, to be read ahead of each class. There will also be planned visits to exhibitions and outdoor activities (weather permitting).

Students with preliminary questions about this new course are invited to contact the instructor.
This course will use new research undertaken by the instructor as part of the PNRR project Changes.

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This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Circular economy, innovation, work" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development