I developed this course as part of my training at the Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning at Brown University, based upon my experience as a TA for Prof. Susan Alcock's "Food and Drink in Classical Antiquity," an undergraduate course taught at Brown in 2009 and 2013. At Florida State University, I am slated to teach this course in Fall 2016.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Eating is not, and never has been, a merely biological activity.
-Paul Fieldhouse, Food and Nutrition: Customs and Culture (1986)
We may all be what we eat, but we are also with whom we eat, where, when, why (or not), and how we eat. In this class, we will consider the implications for patterns of food production, preparation, consumption, availability, and taboos, examining issues like gender, health, wealth, geographic variability, and politics within the historic and geographic context of the ancient Mediterranean throughout the entirety of pre-modern period. Literary, art historical, anthropological and archaeological approaches and evidence will be explored in our pursuit of connections between food, drink, and daily life in the ancient Mediterranean world. Covering topics ranging from ancient Greek drinking games to food as medicine to the influence of Arab cuisine on the medieval Mediterranean, from sacrificing to the gods of the Roman pantheon to the process of wine-making to modern-day American feasting practices, we will learn about the role of food and drink in ancient Mediterranean society, considering critically what repercussions that has for how we think about how even today, we ‘are what we eat.’
Eating is not, and never has been, a merely biological activity.
-Paul Fieldhouse, Food and Nutrition: Customs and Culture (1986)
We may all be what we eat, but we are also with whom we eat, where, when, why (or not), and how we eat. In this class, we will consider the implications for patterns of food production, preparation, consumption, availability, and taboos, examining issues like gender, health, wealth, geographic variability, and politics within the historic and geographic context of the ancient Mediterranean throughout the entirety of pre-modern period. Literary, art historical, anthropological and archaeological approaches and evidence will be explored in our pursuit of connections between food, drink, and daily life in the ancient Mediterranean world. Covering topics ranging from ancient Greek drinking games to food as medicine to the influence of Arab cuisine on the medieval Mediterranean, from sacrificing to the gods of the Roman pantheon to the process of wine-making to modern-day American feasting practices, we will learn about the role of food and drink in ancient Mediterranean society, considering critically what repercussions that has for how we think about how even today, we ‘are what we eat.’
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
- identify patterns of food production and consumption in the Mediterranean;
- contrast patterns of food production and consumption across time and space in the Mediterranean;
- synthesize different approaches and evidence to understand the implications of food and drink in the ancient Mediterranean;
- interpret those synthesized data sets for a clear, well-articulated understanding of the importance of food in both the ancient and modern world as more than a biological necessity, but as an historically, culturally, and geographically contingent construction.
REQUIRED TEXTS
- Flandrin, Jean-Louis and Massimo Montanari, eds. 1999. Food: A Culinary History from Antiquity to the Present. New York: Columbia University Press. [=FOOD]
- Donahue, John F. 2015. Food and Drink in Antiquity: A Sourcebook: Readings from the Graeco-Roman World. New York: Bloomsbury. [=Sourcebook]
RECOMMENDED TEXTS
You may wish to purchase the following two books, from which many of our readings come, but I have not listed as required texts because they are available as e-books through Strozier Library.
- Wilkins, John and Robin Nadeau. 2015. A Companion to Food in the Ancient World. Wiley-Blackwell. (available as an e-book through Strozier Library) [=Companion]
- Garnsey, Peter. 1999. Food and Society in Classical Antiquity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (available as an e-book through Strozier Library) [=Garnsey]
CLASS FORMAT AND RESOURCES
Class meetings will revolve around lectures on the themes presented day-by-day in the syllabus. However, you are encouraged to ask questions and give comments if you have something relevant to say regarding the information! The reading responses will also provide a venue for you to voice your comments and questions; I will address these responses during the lecture. Powerpoint slides, images, and other supplementary material and resources such as the class bibliography will be posted to Blackboard for your reference.
ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING
Students will take two non-cumulative exams and will be responsible for developing their final project over the course of the semester. Class participation will involve occasional quizzes and short assignments/projects, both in and out of class. The breakdown of the final grade is as follows:
All written assignments will be submitted via Turnitin on the CLA4930 Blackboard site. Please see Turnitin for instructor feedback on written assignments, both in-line and as comments.
PARTICIPATION
Please come to class on time and ready to actively contribute to discussion by sharing your thoughts, comments, and/or questions in response to the readings and short assignment prompts. Attendance will be taken daily and, along with your class participation, will comprise 5% of your final grade.
Quizzes: Occasional short, in-class quizzes will gauge your comprehension and reactions to the readings (especially the primary sources), previous material, and geography of the Mediterranean and its connections. These will likely take place once a week or every other week, without advance warning.
Short assignments (in and out of class):
Paper: Eat With Your Eyes: Food & Instagram
This 7-10 page paper, in the form of a comparative essay, will build upon the short assignment and subsequent discussion held in class. Details of content and format will be discussed in class and distributed as a handout two weeks before the due date. Papers will be evaluated according to the class rubric, available on the CLA4930 Blackboard site.
Exams: Both the Midterm (15% of final grade) and Final (25% of final grade) exams will consist of multiple choice, short answer, short essay, slide IDs, passage IDs, and map location identification portions. These will follow the format of the in-class quiz questions, so that students have an idea of what to expect and how to prepare.
Final Project: You will create an online exhibit/essay (equivalent to a 10-12 page research paper) documenting and interpreting food & drink objects, art, and texts from antiquity according to the Southeast Europe Digital Documentation (SEEDD) Project metadata schema. Group projects are dependent upon instructor approval. Papers will be evaluated according to the class rubric, available on the CLA4930 Blackboard site, as well as critical reception and revision according to instructor and peer feedback.
The final project will be an iterative project consisting of multiple individual elements that will help you develop your questions, ideas and interpretations over the course of the semester. These different elements include:
Additional details of the individual elements will be distributed as handouts and discussed in class at least two weeks before each is due. Please see the Course Schedule on the CLA4930 Blackboard site for due dates.
- Participation 5%
- Quizzes 10%
- Short assignments 15%
- Paper 10%
- Exams 40%
- Final Project 20%
All written assignments will be submitted via Turnitin on the CLA4930 Blackboard site. Please see Turnitin for instructor feedback on written assignments, both in-line and as comments.
PARTICIPATION
Please come to class on time and ready to actively contribute to discussion by sharing your thoughts, comments, and/or questions in response to the readings and short assignment prompts. Attendance will be taken daily and, along with your class participation, will comprise 5% of your final grade.
Quizzes: Occasional short, in-class quizzes will gauge your comprehension and reactions to the readings (especially the primary sources), previous material, and geography of the Mediterranean and its connections. These will likely take place once a week or every other week, without advance warning.
Short assignments (in and out of class):
- Food & Memory
- Create Your Own Culinary Triangle
- Restaurant Review
- Eat With Your Eyes: Food & Instagram
- Food in (Modern) Pop Culture
Paper: Eat With Your Eyes: Food & Instagram
This 7-10 page paper, in the form of a comparative essay, will build upon the short assignment and subsequent discussion held in class. Details of content and format will be discussed in class and distributed as a handout two weeks before the due date. Papers will be evaluated according to the class rubric, available on the CLA4930 Blackboard site.
Exams: Both the Midterm (15% of final grade) and Final (25% of final grade) exams will consist of multiple choice, short answer, short essay, slide IDs, passage IDs, and map location identification portions. These will follow the format of the in-class quiz questions, so that students have an idea of what to expect and how to prepare.
Final Project: You will create an online exhibit/essay (equivalent to a 10-12 page research paper) documenting and interpreting food & drink objects, art, and texts from antiquity according to the Southeast Europe Digital Documentation (SEEDD) Project metadata schema. Group projects are dependent upon instructor approval. Papers will be evaluated according to the class rubric, available on the CLA4930 Blackboard site, as well as critical reception and revision according to instructor and peer feedback.
The final project will be an iterative project consisting of multiple individual elements that will help you develop your questions, ideas and interpretations over the course of the semester. These different elements include:
- Project proposal (1-2 pages)
- Narrative description of the proposed project, including a preliminary annotated bibliography (3-4 items; books and journal articles ONLY)
- Item Metadata
- 2-3 objects that contribute to your final project, described according to the SEEDD metadata schema
- First Draft (3-4 pages)
- Peer Review (in class; optional for extra credit)
- Second draft outline (optional)
- Second Draft (7-9 pages) + Map Requests
- Final Submission (10-12 pages)
Additional details of the individual elements will be distributed as handouts and discussed in class at least two weeks before each is due. Please see the Course Schedule on the CLA4930 Blackboard site for due dates.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Week 1: Introduction to the Course
Tuesday, August 30: Overview of the Course
Thursday, September 1: What, when, and where is the ancient Mediterranean?
Readings
Tuesday, September 6: the arrival of agriculture
Readings
Thursday, September 8: urbanism, writing, and complex societies
Readings
Cuneiform records of food distribution!
Meet in the lower level of Strozier library for a hands-on experience with ancient Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets currently held in FSU Special Collections.
Week 3: Egypt
Tuesday, September 13: life and death along the Nile
Readings
Thursday, September 15: food and flood: Egyptian religion
Readings
Week 4: The Mediterranean Diet
Tuesday, September 20: the triad: grain, grape, and olive
Readings
Thursday, September 22: production, preparation and consumption
Readings
*Monday, September 26: Culinary Triangles due*
Week 5: Feeding the Gods, Feeding Us
Tuesday, September 27: sacrifice: Israel, Greece and Rome
Readings
Thursday, September 29: dining and Dionysos
Readings
Week 6: Food & Drink in Public and Private
Tuesday, October 4: food and art
Readings
Thursday, October 6: food in public: inns and taverns
Guest lecture by Shawn Youngblood, Classics
Readings
Week 7: Food Legends
Tuesday, October 11: food and the powerful
Readings
FOOD Chapters 11 & 24
Companion Chapter 8
Sourcebook pp. 173-184
Thursday, October 13: food and farming: ideals and idylls
Readings
Sourcebook pp. 32-35, 45-47
Companion Chapters 3 & 6
Week 8: Midterm and Recipe Reconstruction
Tuesday, October 18: Midterm Exam
Thursday, October 20: cooking and cookbooks
Readings
FOOD Chapter 23
Sourcebook pp. 16-19, 47-48
Week 9: Food and the Body
Tuesday, October 25: food and health
Readings
Thursday, October 27: food and morality
Readings
Week 10: Denying the Body
Tuesday, November 1: food taboos
Readings
Thursday, November 3: early Christian asceticism
Readings
Week 11: Famine and Food Supply
Tuesday, November 8: the annona: supplying the city and the military
Readings
Thursday, November 10: Edessa
Readings
Week 12: Food & Feast
Tuesday, November 15: identifying feasts in literature and archaeology
Readings
Thursday, November 17: archaeology of food
*Guest lecture by Dr. Kay Ueda*
Readings
Week 13:
Tuesday, November 22: Thanksgiving: analyzing the feast
Readings
Thursday, November 24: No class (Thanksgiving holiday)
Week 14: Beyond the 'Classical' Mediterranean
Tuesday, November 29: spices and the silk route
Readings
FOOD Chapter 25
Thursday, December 1: food in the medieval Mediterranean
Readings
FOOD Chapter 17
Selections from Trepanier (2014) Foodways and Daily Life in Medieval Anatolia
*Friday, December 3: second draft (optional) + map location requests due*
Week 15:
Tuesday, December 6: food in (modern) pop culture
Readings
Companion Chapter 1
Thursday, December 8: final projects and evaluations
*Final projects due Friday, December 9 at noon*
Final Exam: Wednesday, December 14, 7.30-9.30am
Tuesday, August 30: Overview of the Course
Thursday, September 1: What, when, and where is the ancient Mediterranean?
Readings
- FOOD Part One: Introduction
- FOOD Part Two: Introduction
- Companion Chapter 11
Tuesday, September 6: the arrival of agriculture
Readings
- FOOD Chapter 1
- Molleson (1994), "The Eloquent Bones of Abu Hureyra," Scientific American 271.2: 70-75.
Thursday, September 8: urbanism, writing, and complex societies
Readings
- Companion Chapter 29
- Price and Feinman pp. 419-435 (from Chapter 8, "States and Empires in Asia and Africa" from Images of the Past)
Cuneiform records of food distribution!
Meet in the lower level of Strozier library for a hands-on experience with ancient Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets currently held in FSU Special Collections.
Week 3: Egypt
Tuesday, September 13: life and death along the Nile
Readings
- FOOD Chapter 3
- Bard (2008), "The Environmental Background to Pharaonic Civilization: Geography, Environment, Agriculture, and Natural Resources," from Introduction to the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt
Thursday, September 15: food and flood: Egyptian religion
Readings
- Companion Chapter 30
- Gay (2008), "Understanding Ancient Egyptian Art," from The Art of Ancient Egypt
Week 4: The Mediterranean Diet
Tuesday, September 20: the triad: grain, grape, and olive
Readings
- Sourcebook Chapter 3, pp. 51-81, 85-91
Thursday, September 22: production, preparation and consumption
Readings
- Levi-Strauss, "The Culinary Triangle"
- FOOD Chapter 6
- Companion Chapter 16
*Monday, September 26: Culinary Triangles due*
Week 5: Feeding the Gods, Feeding Us
Tuesday, September 27: sacrifice: Israel, Greece and Rome
Readings
- Sourcebook Chapter pp. 52-55, 111-128, 147-154
- FOOD Chapter 4
Thursday, September 29: dining and Dionysos
Readings
- Companion Chapter 24
- FOOD Chapters 10 & 26
- Sourcebook pp. 182-189
Week 6: Food & Drink in Public and Private
Tuesday, October 4: food and art
Readings
- Companion Chapter 12
- Dunbabin (2003), "Public Dining" from The Roman Banquet
Thursday, October 6: food in public: inns and taverns
Guest lecture by Shawn Youngblood, Classics
Readings
- DeFelice, John. 2007. "Inns and Taverns," in The World of Pompeii, ed. John J. Dobbins and Pedar W. Foss. New York: Routledge, 474-486.
- FOOD Chapter 35
- FOOD Chapter 22
- Sourcebook pp. 189-193
Week 7: Food Legends
Tuesday, October 11: food and the powerful
Readings
FOOD Chapters 11 & 24
Companion Chapter 8
Sourcebook pp. 173-184
Thursday, October 13: food and farming: ideals and idylls
Readings
Sourcebook pp. 32-35, 45-47
Companion Chapters 3 & 6
Week 8: Midterm and Recipe Reconstruction
Tuesday, October 18: Midterm Exam
Thursday, October 20: cooking and cookbooks
Readings
FOOD Chapter 23
Sourcebook pp. 16-19, 47-48
Week 9: Food and the Body
Tuesday, October 25: food and health
Readings
- FOOD Chapter 12
- Sourcebook pp. 231-247
Thursday, October 27: food and morality
Readings
- FOOD Chapters 13, 15 & 39
- Sourcebook pp. 248-258
Week 10: Denying the Body
Tuesday, November 1: food taboos
Readings
- Garnsey Chapter 6
- Sourcebook pp. 119-121
Thursday, November 3: early Christian asceticism
Readings
- Life of Saint Symeon Stylites
- Shaw (1998) "What is Asceticism?" in The Burden of the Flesh: Fasting and Sexuality in Early Christianity
- Companion Chapter 34
Week 11: Famine and Food Supply
Tuesday, November 8: the annona: supplying the city and the military
Readings
- Companion Chapter 17
- Sourcebook pp. 100-108, 207-228
Thursday, November 10: Edessa
Readings
- Garnsey Chapter 3
- Chronicle of Ps.-Joshua the Stylite pp. 34-49
Week 12: Food & Feast
Tuesday, November 15: identifying feasts in literature and archaeology
Readings
- FOOD Chapters 7 & 8
- Companion Chapter 9
- Sourcebook pp. 35-39, 157-172, 193-197, 133-135
Thursday, November 17: archaeology of food
*Guest lecture by Dr. Kay Ueda*
Readings
- Companion Chapter 10
Week 13:
Tuesday, November 22: Thanksgiving: analyzing the feast
Readings
- Fischler, Claude (2015) "Is Sharing Meals a Thing of the Past?"
- Cappellini and Parsons (2012) "Sharing the Meal: Food Consumption and Family Identity"
Thursday, November 24: No class (Thanksgiving holiday)
Week 14: Beyond the 'Classical' Mediterranean
Tuesday, November 29: spices and the silk route
Readings
FOOD Chapter 25
Thursday, December 1: food in the medieval Mediterranean
Readings
FOOD Chapter 17
Selections from Trepanier (2014) Foodways and Daily Life in Medieval Anatolia
*Friday, December 3: second draft (optional) + map location requests due*
Week 15:
Tuesday, December 6: food in (modern) pop culture
Readings
Companion Chapter 1
Thursday, December 8: final projects and evaluations
*Final projects due Friday, December 9 at noon*
Final Exam: Wednesday, December 14, 7.30-9.30am
