Courses

We explore the performance of French identity through the lens of food to unpack how gender, race, socioeconomic status, and immigration clash with the espoused French national ideal of “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité”. Through visits to markets, restaurants, bakeries, wholesale and retail outlets, farms, and cooperatives, we explore the material culture that makes possible acquiescence and resistance to these ideas of identity and ultimately will discover the limits and possibilities implicit in our own personal ideals.

This course delves into the intersection of food, art, and ethics, exploring how art
can challenge and expand our understanding of ethical issues related to food. Examining a diverse array of artistic expressions reveals how artists use food to encourage, critique, or re-imagine existing power structures and social, economic, environmental, and political dynamics. We critically explore how art can shape belief systems, values, and actions, and offer creative possibilities of how people might live.

This course is an interdisciplinary and intercultural examination of human communication through food in Shanghai. Explores the social, economic, political, and cultural ramifications of food production and consumption. Students will have a unique opportunity to explore various local, regional and transnational, and food rituals.

Improving food access in underserved communities is a key focus of healthy food
policy. Building on the foundation of the core course Food Policy, this course is a deep study of two to three existing food policies. Students will learn how the policies were created, how they were implemented, and the intended goals of the policies. We engage in critical analysis of the consequences.
effectiveness of policies through a careful examination of the peer reviewed research that
assesses whether the intended goals were achieved and whether there were any unintended

It should be noted that independent study requires a minimum of 45 hours of work per point. Independent study cannot be applied to the established professional education sequence in teaching curricula. Each departmental program has established its own maximum credit allowance for independent study. This information may be obtained from the student's department. Prior to registering for independent study, each student should obtain an Independent Study approval from the adviser.

Three waves of migration from different parts of the world have shaped the
American diet. The first consisted of Northern Europeans and Chinese (until 1882), followed by a Mediterranean and Eastern European wave (1880-1924). The 1965-2023 wave consisted of migrants from Asia and Latin America. Each wave brought the taste for its produce, stimulating American demand for products such as olive oil, avocados and chilies. We interrogate the transformation of American foodways with each wave of migration in terms of ethnic entrepreneurship and taste.

Domestic climate policy focusing on food and agriculture has evolved since the turn of the 21st century, prompted by disruptions caused by climate events such as drought and flooding. The intersection of climate events, advocacy, politics, and research sets an environment for federal food and agriculture policies that target climate change. Examining the process of policy creation and related government programming allows us to understand the potential for agriculture and food systems to both withstand and address the existential threat of climate change.

This course explores how technology has shaped our contemporary food system
while contributing to the form of globalization we currently live in. At the same time, technology is not just the neutral result of scientific research but reflects those same social, economic, and political dynamics that determine the way we think about food, its quality, and its value. The course will also explore emerging technologies, from blockchain and e-agriculture to CRISPR and the attempts at harnessing the microbiome.

This course examines the corpus of literature that uses social network theory to
describe the evolution of taste. Social networks consist of groups of people who are connected through socially meaningful exchanges. Studies based on social networks examine how groups of people interact, including creation of social capital as well as the exclusion of some individuals.

Using an intersectional lens, this course explores the contemporary legacy of
structural racism on the food system and food culture in the United States. Students will learn strategies for promoting racial justice and equity, then use this knowledge to analyze and address real-world issues in their food studies interest areas. By the end of this course, students will be he knowledge and tools to advocate for, develop, and implement racial equity initiatives in the field of food studies.

The consequences of agricultural exceptionalism, migration laws, income
inequality, and climate change reverberate throughout the food system. This course examines the interplay among these factors, identifying how they lead to disproportionate impacts on vulnerable groups (for example, farmworkers). Students will analyze the successes and failures of policy to reduce the inequities.

This course focuses on critical works in the field of food studies that rely on oral
history to analyze food within larger socio-cultural and political experiences. As an
interdisciplinary field of research inherently centered on sensory and cultural experiences, oral histories open up different pathways to understand food. In addition to mastering the existing body of knowledge using oral histories, students will conduct oral history interviews that will expand our academic understanding of foodways through the work of oral history.

This course provides a practical introduction to urban agriculture. Students learn horticultural skills at the NYU Urban Farm Lab. Students learn about biological processes and how they fit together in a system. Through visits to other sites around the city, students are exposed to various strategies for practicing urban horticulture. Additionally, we engage with greater themes found within urban agriculture such as entrepreneurship, food justice, individual and group sustenance, cultural enactments of identity, community building, and education.

New York State's 2021 passage of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act
outlined a comprehensive regulatory structure to oversee the licensure, cultivation, production, distribution, sale, and taxation of medical, adult-use, and cannabinoid hemp. Drawing on the experience of other states, New York sought to establish a legal cannabis industry that promoted social justice, public health, and economic development for all New Yorkers. This course examines the implementation of the law, which has been slow and riddled with challenges, and market development.

This course examines the food landscape of New York City. In doing so, it explores
the local landscape for buying food, the different paths food takes to reach city residents, and disparities in food access across the five boroughs. New York City's local food environment includes a mixture of supermarket chains, bodegas and corner stores, and many farmers markets. The city is surrounded by productive and fertile farmland in the Hudson Valley and New Jersey. The final defining part of the local food landscape is the wholesale market, Hunts Point.

Studying in Washington DC, we undertake a deep study of sustainable and organic agricultural policy, by examining research, advocacy and policymaking. Relying on the expertise of locally based scholars, researchers and advocates, the course will consist of lectures, panel discussions, QandA sessions with experts, and site visits to better understand how these three key components interact. The final part of the course is civic engagement, where students meet their elected officials to advocate their positions related to federal agricultural policy.

This course examines the organic food system from multiple angles, starting with the
historical evolution of organic food and agriculture. Specific aspects studied may include how organic certification works, biodiversity in the organic system, organic’s potential for climate change mitigation, the political economy of the US organic regulation, and international trade of organic products. Students analyze current debates, such as how regenerative agriculture fits into the organic landscape and how to improve organic integrity along the supply chain.

This course introduces students to the concepts, frameworks & models to systematically build successful, socially-conscious businesses that are both sustainable & public health-driven. Topics will include how to 1) identify & analyze need-gaps, 2) develop a sustainable-food business concept, 3) identify a profitable niche in the global, social-justice oriented market, & 4) raise capital in innovative ways. The course will also provide access to domain-specific resources including key industry participants, industry experts & research partners.

Students harness the power of storytelling by using data visualizations to bring their
stories to life. Storytelling is both an art and a skill, especially when it comes to data
visualization. This course provides students with the expertise needed to create an engaging, informative, compelling story. Students create a story that is grounded in food studies; learn basic data handling skills, including how to assess data quality, and interpreting basic metrics. Students learn the techniques of visualization design. In a final project, students use their knowledge to produce a data visualization that tells a story of their choice.

Urban policy makers embrace local food systems as a solution to a myriad of urban problems, including lack of green space and a dearth of healthy food availability. At the local and state levels, policies are often based on visions of how food might be grown in a city without considering logistic feasibility or economic viability. This course probes the practical implications of growing food within urban environments.