Course Details

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest woman ever elected to U.S. Congress recently stated that she learned her most important political lessons from working in restaurants. This class looks at food as the nexus of almost all the major forces in U.S. politics today. We will examine food as it is connected to issues such as Indigenous sovereignty, climate justice, immigration law, the criminal justice system, workers’ rights and health. We will explore these topics through an interdisciplinary and decolonial approach to critical food studies. Our examination centers the scholarship and lived experiences of Indigenous peoples and communities of color. This class will help you develop skills to communicate publicly about the specific role that food plays in contemporary U.S. politics and social movements.