food and drink - syllabus
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CLASS MEETINGS INSTRUCTOR
MWF 11-11.50am Sarah Craft
Rhode Island Hall 108 Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology &
http://proteus.brown.edu/fooddrink2011 the Ancient World
Rhode Island Hall 210
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 produc-
tion, preparation, consumption, availability, and taboos, examining issues like gender,
health, wealth, geographic variability, and politics within the historic and geographic con-
text 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 Mediterra-
nean world. Covering topics ranging from ancient Greek drinking games to food as medi-
cine 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 feast-
ing practices, we will learn about the role of food and drink in ancient Mediterranean soci-
ety, considering critically what repercussions that has for how we think about how even to-day, we are what we eat.
FOOD AND DRINKIN THEANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN
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mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://proteus.brown.edu/fooddrink2011mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://proteus.brown.edu/fooddrink2011http://proteus.brown.edu/fooddrink2011 -
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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 im-
portance of food in both the ancient and modern world as more than a biological neces-
sity, but as an historically, culturally, and geographically contingent construction.
REQUIRED TEXTS
Beer, Michael. 2010. Taste or Taboo: Dietary Choices in Antiquity. Devon, England: Prospect
Books.
Flandrin, Jean-Louis and Massimo Montanari, eds. 1999.Food: A Culinary History from
Antiquity to the Present. New York: Columbia University Press.
Garnsey, Peter. 1999.Food and Society in Classical Antiquity. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press. (available as an e-book through Josiah)
Wilkins, John M. and Shaun Hill. 2006.Food in the Ancient World. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
(available as an e-book through Josiah)
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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 re-sponses will also provide a venue for you to voice your comments and questions; I
will address these responses during the lecture. Powerpoints, images, and other
supplementary material and resources such as the class bibliography will be posted
to the wiki for your reference.
ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING
Assignment % Due Date
Reading responses 20% 9am on the day of class
Participation 5% throughout
Culinary polygon 5% 19 September 9am
Midterm exam 15% 15 October
First draft (4+ pages) 10% 5 November midnight
Summary form of first draft 5% 5 November midnight
Second draft (7-10 pages) 10% 19 November midnight
Summary form of second draft 5% 19 November midnight
Final paper (7-10 pages) 10% 7 December midnight
Final exam 15% TBA
_____________________________________________
Total 100%
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Reading Responses (20%)
Unless specified in the course schedule, reading responses should follow
the format of addressing three questions:
What was the main point of this reading?
Did anything surprise you? Why?
Did anything confuse you? Why?
These are intended to encourage you to really engage with the readings and under-
stand them; and if they make you realize that you dont/didnt understand them,
then to grapple with why. These are completion grades, but whether or not they are
reflective will be taken into account (for example, Nothing surprised or confused
me about this reading doesnt cut it). They are due by 9am on the day of class, as
entries posted to the wiki, so that I can go through them and address issues that
come up during class. You are encouraged to review your peers responses to con-
sider whether they are struggling with the same issues as you are.
Culinary polygon (5%)
good to think with: create your own culinary polygon
Lvi-Strausss culinary triangle is a short, dense, and influential text. In or-der to really engage with the text and its ideas, create your own culinary
polygon based on your own diets, choices, and implications.) These can fol-
low the paradigm of Lvi-Strausss text or you can follow a more creative
direction if you feel so inspired. Due September 19 at 9am, either posted
as pdfs/docs to the wiki or turned in as hardcopies to my mailbox.
Midterm exam (15%)
This exam is intended to gauge your level of engagement and understanding
of the material covered in class and readings through Fall Break (Oct 8).
Identification of terms, short answers, and two short essays.
First draft (10%)
This first draft of your paper is intended to get you really thinking about
your paper thesis, sources, and evidence. Due by midnight on Monday, No-vember 5.
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First draft summary report (5%)This form is comprised of your responses to a series of questions regarding
your draft and is intended to make sure you are considering all the relevant
elements of your paper right from the beginning. In the following diagram,
address the eight issues identified in the wheel. Due by midnight on Mon-day, November 5.
Second draft (10%)
The second draft should be a full one of your paper, taking into account the feed-
back from your first draft and summary report. Due by midnight on Monday, No-
vember 19.
Second draft summary report (5%)
The summary report for the second draft consists of your responses to a series of
questions addressing your inferences and interpretations.
What conclusions am I coming to?
Is my inference logical?
Are there other conclusions I should consider?
Does this interpretation make sense? Does our solution necessarily follow from our data?
How did I reach that conclusion?
What am I basing my reasoning on?
Is there an alternative plausible conclusion?
Given all the facts what is the best possible conclusion?
Due by midnight on Monday, November 19. [reference material from The Thinkers
Guide to Analytic Thinking(2007)]
Final Paper (10%)
The final paper should be a clear, well-conceived and well-articulated research pa-
per founded on the two drafts. It will be evaluated according to the following ru-
bric, which relies on the assumption that after working through the interim as-
signments described above, there is a clear thesis statement that will already be
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worked out by the time the student gets to the final draft stage. Due by midnighton Friday, December 7.
Final exam (15%)
This exam is intended to gauge your level of engagement and understanding
of the material covered in class and readings over the entirety of the semes-
ter, though with a focus on the material covered since the midterm exam.
The exam will consist of identification of terms, short answers, and two
short essays.
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COURSE SCHEDULE(ANNOTATION IN PARENTHESES)
WEEK1:INTRODUCTION TO THEANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN
WEDNESDAY,SEPTEMBER5FOOD ASFORUM
(Introduction to the course. What can we learn about the ancient worldfrom the study of its inhabitants patterns and techniques of production,diet, eating habits, and regional variability? Go through the syllabus,assignments, and take questions.)
Class activity: entry survey(Gathering information from students; short questionnaire to identify whatthey hope to gain from this course.)
FRIDAY,SEPTEMBER7
WHAT AND WHEN IS THE ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN?
(This class will be an introduction to how I envision the ancient Medi-
terranean, both chronologically and geographically, in terms of a
foundation for the class. This will give students an opportunity to put
forward some of their own ideas about what should be included, andnot. Lecture and discussion will revolve around powerpoint slides of
maps, timelines, and relevant monuments and people.)
Readings
Choose either(though both are recommended):Snodgrass, Greek Archaeology (13-29) OR
Millett, Roman Archaeology, in Part 1, What is Classical Archaeology? in Classi-cal Archaeology, ed. Susan E. Alcock and Robin Osborne. Blackwell STudies inGlobal Archaeology. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2007.
Class activity: whats missing from the mediterranean?
(Based on the readings that they did, students will identify what a classical-
archaeology-centered approach leaves out of the Mediterranean, as if Greece and
Rome were isolated from the rest of the sea and its peoples; what impact that has
on their own identities (for example, Othering through food accusations) and how
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we study them (for example, Egyptian grain production and the annona, or graindole, in ancient Rome).)
WEEK2:INTRODUCTION (PART II)
MONDAY,SEPTEMBER10
WHO STUDIES EATING HABITS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS IN THE ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN, ANDHOW?
(This class will cover different approaches to food in the ancient world: text,
art history, anthropology, and archaeology. As all three contribute to an in-
formed knowledge of the ancient world, students will be asked to reflect on
what each approach can offer and how they can complement each other.)
Readings
Bober, Phyllis Pray. 1999. The Hellenic Experience, inArt, Culture and Cuisine:
Ancient and Medieval Gastronomy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 77-
122.
Lvi-Strauss, Claude. 2008. The Culinary Triangle, inFood and Culture: A Reader,
ed. C. Counihan and P. Van Esterik. New York: Routledge, 28-35.
Twiss, Katheryn C. 2007. We Are What We Eat, in The Archaeology of Food and
Identity, ed. Katheryn C. Twiss. Carbondale, Ill.: Center for ArchaeologicalInvestigations at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, 1-15.
Wilkins, John M. and Shaun Hill. 2006. Food in Literature, inFood in the Ancient
World. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 247-276.
activity: by 9am on the day of class, submit a short response outlining what you
think the main research questions and approaches of each discipline (Bober/art his-
tory; Twiss/archaeology; Lvi-Strauss/anthropology; Wilkins and Hill/literature) are.
How do you see these approaches complementing each other or not?
WEDNESDAY,SEPTEMBER12
OLD FOOD AND US: THE DELIGHTS AND DANGERS OF DRAWING PARALLELS
(With the chronological and geographical foundations of the ancient Mediterranean
in place, this class session is designed to get students to think explicitly and
critically about inferring similarities across regional and chronological boundaries,
with particular attention to our own time and places.)
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Readings
Barthes, Roland. 2008. Towards a psychosociology of contemporary food consumption, in
Food and Culture: A Reader, ed. C. Counihan and P. Van Esterik. New York: Routledge,
20-27.
Beer, Michael. 2010. Introduction, in Taste or Taboo: Dietary Choices in Antiquity. Devon,
England: Prospect Books, 7-16.
Fischler, Claude. 1999. The McDonaldization of culture, inFood: A Culinary History from
Antiquity to the Present, ed. Jean-Louis Flandrin and Massimo Montanari. New York:
Columbia University Press, 530-547.
FRIDAY,SEPTEMBER14
THEFOODFRAMEWORK
(This class will emphasize food as part of a larger system, hearkening back to the
Lvi-Strauss article read two sessions earlier and prompting them to continue
developing their culinary polygon, which is due in less than a week.)
Readings
Appadurai, Arjun. 2008. Building a National Cuisine: Cookbooks in Contemporary India,
inFood and Culture: A Reader, ed. C. Counihan and P. Van Esterik. New York:
Routledge.
Montanari, Massimo. 1999. Food systems and models of civilization, in Food: A Culinary
History from Antiquity to the Present, ed. Jean-Louis Flandrin and Massimo
Montanari. New York: Columbia University Press, 69-78.
Wilkes, John M. and Shaun Hill. 2006. The social context of eating, inFood in the Ancient
World. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 41-78.
MONDAY,SEPTEMBER17BACK TO THEBEGINNINGS
(Up to this point in the class, weve defined some chronological boundaries butskipped around them emphasize thematic points. As we ease into talking about the
mechanics of food production and the ramifications for diet and society, this week
and its classes will preface classical antiquity with some discussion of the
development of food production in prehistory.)
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ReadingsFlandrin, Jean-Louis. 2008. The Humanization of Eating Behaviors, in Food: A Culinary
History from Antiquity to the Present, ed. Jean-Louis Flandrin and Massimo
Montanari. New York: Columbia University Press, 13-20.
Giammellaro, Antonella Span. 2008. The Phoenicians and the Carthaginians: the Early
Mediterranean Diet, inFood: A Culinary History from Antiquity to the Present, ed.
Jean-Louis Flandrin and Massimo Montanari. New York: Columbia University Press,
55-65.
Perls, Catherine. 2008. Eating Strategies in Prehistoric Times, in Food: A Culinary
History from Antiquity to the Present, ed. Jean-Louis Flandrin and Massimo
Montanari. New York: Columbia University Press, 21-31.
Twiss, Katheryn C. 2007. Home is Where the Hearth Is: Food and Identity in the Neolithic
Levant, in The Archaeology of Food and Identity, ed. K.C. Twiss. Carbondale, Ill.:
Center for Archaeological Investigations at Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, 50-68.
WEDNESDAY,SEPTEMBER19
THEMEDITERRANEANTRIAD:DIET ANDREGIONAL VARIABILITY
(While necessarily overlapping with the class before, this class will directly addressthe notion of the Mediterranean triad and its universal applicability; just as we
focused on drawing chronological parallels in the Sept 12 class, this will focus on
geographical variability, as well as getting into issues of availability and access for
the majority of the population, both rural and urban).
Readings
Beer, Michael. 2010. Diet in the Ancient World, in Taste or Taboo: Dietary Choices in
Antiquity. Devon, England: Prospect Books, 17-27.
Garnsey, Peter. 1999. Diet, inFood and Society in Classical Antiquity. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 13-21.
Wilkins, John M. and Shaun Hill. 2006. Staples: Cereals and Pulses and Meat
and Fish, inFood in the Ancient World. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 112-141.
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FRIDAY,SEPTEMBER21DIET AND VARIABILITY(PARTII)
(In this class, we will continue to examine the differences in diet across
geographical regions, including how they changed over time, especially with
the spread of empires.)
Readings
Amouretti, Claire. 2008. Urban and rural diets in Greece, inFood: A Culinary
History from Antiquity to the Present, ed. Jean-Louis Flandrin and Massimo
Montanari. New York: Columbia University Press, 79-89.
Bresciani, Edda. 2008. Food Culture in Ancient Egypt, in Food: A Culinary
History from Antiquity to the Present, ed. Jean-Louis Flandrin and Massimo
Montanari. New York: Columbia University Press, 38-45.
Corbier, Mireille. 2008. The Broad Bean and the Moray: Social Hierarchies and
Food in Rome, inFood: A Culinary History from Antiquity to the Present, ed.
Jean-Louis Flandrin and Massimo Montanari. New York: Columbia
University Press,128-140.
Sassatelli, Giuseppe. 2008. The Diet of the Etruscans, in Food: A Culinary
History from Antiquity to the Present, ed. Jean-Louis Flandrin and MassimoMontanari. New York: Columbia University Press, 106-112.
MONDAY,SEPTEMBER24
MECHANICS OFPRODUCTION
(With an understanding in hand ofwhatwas being eaten, we will take a step
back and examine how they went about producing and acquiring those
foods.)
ReadingsGarnsey, Peter. 1999. Food and the Economy, inFood and Society in Classical
Antiquity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 22-33.
Wilkes, John M. and Shaun Hill. 2006. An overview of food in antiquity, inFood in
the Ancient World. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 1-30.
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WEDNESDAY,SEPTEMBER26FOOD TECHNOLOGY
(After thinking about foods place in the economy, we will move on to think about
the structures, mechanics, and material that went into producing food [as opposed
to drink, which will be tackled in more detail in the two following meetings] before
it entered into the economy.)
Readings
Curtis, Robert I. 2001. Classical and Hellenistic Periods and Summary and
Conclusions to Part III inAncient Food Technology. Technology and Changein History Volume 5. Leiden & Boston: Brill, 275-322, 420-434.
FRIDAY,SEPTEMBER28
DRINKLIKE ANEGYPTIAN
(Building upon the previous weeks discussion of technology and production, this
class will look explicitly at the special place of beer in the ancient world, especially
in the places where it was most widely relied upon and where we have learned the
most about its production and symbolic value within ancient society. We will look
especially at the role of experimental archaeology in deducing how beer was made.)
Readings
HTTP://WWW2.MACLEANS.CA/2011/11/03/DRINK-LIKE-AN-EGYPTIAN/
Curtis, Robert I. 2001. Egypt I, inAncient Food Technology. Technology and Change
in History Volume 5. Leiden & Boston: Brill, 93-141.
Jennings, Justin, Kathleen L. Antrobus, Sam J. Atencio, Erin Glavich, Rebecca
Johnson, German Loffler, and Christine Luu. 2005. Drinking beer in ablissful mood: Alcohol production, operational chains, and feasting in the
ancient world, in Current Anthropology46.2: 275-303.
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http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/11/03/drink-like-an-egyptian/http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/11/03/drink-like-an-egyptian/http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/11/03/drink-like-an-egyptian/ -
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MONDAY,OCTOBER1BEERSSOPHISTICATED COUSIN:WINE
(Building upon the previous weeks discussion of technology and production, this
class will look explicitly at the special place of wine in the ancient world, especially
in the places where it was most widely relied upon and where we have learned the
most about its production and symbolic value within ancient society. We will look
especially at the role of experimental archaeology and comparison with modern
wine-producing technologies as ways to work back towards ancient practices.)
Readings
Beer, Michael. 2010. Restrictions upon alcohol, in Taste or Taboo: Dietary Choices in
Antiquity. Devon, England: Prospect Books, 84-100.
Curtis, Robert I. 2001. Wine inAncient Food Technology. Technology and Change
in History Volume 5. Leiden & Boston: Brill, 372-379.
Wilkes, John M. and Shaun Hill. 2006. Wine and Drinking, inFood in the Ancient
World. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 164-184.
WEDNESDAY,OCTOBER3
FROMPRODUCTION TO CONSERVATION
(This class will emphasize that concerns about food in the ancient world were not
just about producing and acquiring it, but how to store it once it was actually ac-
quired - without the option of deep freezers or refrigerators! Issues of storage and
conservation will be looked at both at the individual household level as well as
larger estates and state administration.)
Readings
Grunbrt, Michael. Store in a cool and dry place: perishable goods and their
preservation in Byzantium, inEat, Drink, and Be Merry (Luke 12:19): Food and
Wine in Byzantium (In Honour of Professor A.A.M. Bryer), ed. Leslie Brubaker
and Kallirroe Linardou. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 39-50.
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Stathakopoulos, D. Between the field and the plate: how agricultural products wereprocessed into food, inEat, Drink, and Be Merry (Luke 12:19): Food and Wine
in Byzantium (In Honour of Professor A.A.M. Bryer), ed. Leslie Brubaker and
Kallirroe Linardou. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 27-38.
FRIDAY,OCTOBER5
FAMINE ANDFOODSUPPLY
(A large part of the fear surrounding food storage and conservation in the ancient
world was not just about seasonal preparation, but looking ahead to years of famineor food shortages of one kind or another. In addition to looking at strategies peo-
ple used for dealing with food shortages, we will explore issues of accessibility as
well as simple availability, focusing on the case study of Edessa and the detailed in-
formation we have about that crisis, and the in-depth studies that have been under-
taken about it.)
Readings
Galen. On the fruit from wild plants, from On the Properties of Foodstuffs, 97-98.
Garnsey, Peter. 1999. Food Crisis, inFood and Society in Classical Antiquity.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 34-42.
Garnsey, Peter. 1988. Supply and Distribution: Urban Communities, in Famine and
Food Supply in the Greco-Roman World: responses to risk and crisis. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 69-86.
MONDAY,OCTOBER8
NOCLASS-FALL BREAK
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WEDNESDAY,OCTOBER10PUTTINGFOOD ON THETABLE(AND TAKING IT OFF AGAIN):DININGHABITS
(In this class, we will examine the dining habits associated with pre-Roman Greek
culture, in a general sense, including physical set-up, status, and illustrative case
studies.)
Readings
Lissarague, Francois. 1987. Drinking Games, in The Aesthetics of the Greek Banquet.
Princeton: Princeton University Press, 68-86.
Scmitt-Pantel, Pauline. 2008. Greek Meals: A Civic Ritual, in Food: A Culinary
History from Antiquity to the Present, ed. Jean-Louis Flandrin and Massimo
Montanari. New York: Columbia University Press, 90-95.
Vetta, Massimo. 2008. The Culture of the Symposium, inFood: A Culinary
History from Antiquity to the Present, ed. Jean-Louis Flandrin and Massimo
Montanari. New York: Columbia University Press, 96-105.
FRIDAY,OCTOBER12
PUTTINGFOOD ON THETABLE(PARTII)
(In this class, we will examine the dining habits associated with Roman culture into
the late antique period, in a general sense, including physical set-up, status, and il-
lustrative case studies.)
Readings
Bradley, Keith. 2001. The Roman Family at Dinner, inMeals in a Social Context,ed.
Inge Nielsen and Hanne Nielsen. Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 36-55.
Dunbabin, Katherine. 2003. The Waiting Servant in Later Roman Art, in American
Journal of Philology124.3 (Special Issue: Roman Dining): 443-456.
Dupont, Florence. 2008. The Grammar of Roman Dining, in Food: A Culinary
History from Antiquity to the Present, ed. Jean-Louis Flandrin and Massimo
Montanari. New York: Columbia University Press, 113-127.
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MONDAY,OCTOBER15
MID-TERMEXAM(COVERING MATERIAL UP TO FALL BREAK)
WEDNESDAY,OCTOBER17
EATINGAWAYFROM THETABLE:STREETFOOD
(We will examine dining habits outside the household level and setting, comparing
differences and their implications to traditional Greek and Roman dining.)
Readings
Casson, Lionel. 1974. Inns and Restaurants, in Travel in the Ancient World. George
Allen and Unwin Ltd., 197-218.
Davidson, James. 1998. Taverns, in Courtesans and Fishcakes: The Consuming Passions
of Classical Athens. New York: St Martins Press, 53-61.
Laurence, Ray. 1996. Deviant Behavior, inRoman Pompeii: Space and Society. New
York & London: Routledge, 70-87.
FRIDAY,OCTOBER19
BEANS,BEANS, THEMAGICAL - ORDEADLY-FRUIT
(We will explore food aversions and fascinations in the ancient world, and explicitly
compare them to what biology and anthropology has taught us about food con-
sumption and tastes today. These will include religious as well as wider cultural
food taboos. )
Readings
Beer, Michael. 2010. Beans, in Taste or Taboo: Dietary Choices in Antiquity. Devon,
England: Prospect Books, 44-53.
Garnsey, Peter. 1998. The Bean: Substance and Symbol, in Cities, Peasants and Food
in Classical Antiquity: Essays in Social and Economic History. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 214-225.
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Class activity: mid-term feedback survey
MONDAY,OCTOBER22
FEEDING THEGODS,FEEDINGSOURSELVES
(We will explore about the role of food in ancient religion, from dietary prescrip-
tions of the ancient Hebrews to the role of food in Greek and Roman sacrificial
rituals.)
Readings
Soler, Jean. 2008. Biblical Reasons: The Dietary Rules of the Ancient Hebrews, in
Food: A Culinary History from Antiquity to the Present,ed. Jean-Louis Flandrin
and Massimo Montanari. New York: Columbia University Press, 46-54.
Wilkes, John M. and Shaun Hill. 2006. Food and Ancient Religion, inFood in the
Ancient World. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 81-111.
WEDNESDAY,OCTOBER24FOODIDENTITY:US AND THEM
(Whether we realize it or not, what people choose to eat [or not] and how they de-
cide to prepare it goes into how we define ourselves and others. In this class, we
will look at the different ways that ancient authors explicitly referred to food in the
context of defining what was Greek or Roman or other, and how those tensions
played out in contemporary archaeological deposits.)
Readings
Beer, Michael. 2010. Vegetarianism, in Taste or Taboo: Dietary Choices in Antiquity.
Devon, England: Prospect Books, 28-43.
Garnsey, Peter. 1999. Otherness, inFood and Society in Classical Antiquity.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 62-81.
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Longo, Oddone. 2008. The Food of Others, inFood: A Culinary History fromAntiquity to the Present, ed. Jean-Louis Flandrin and Massimo Montanari.
New York: Columbia University Press, 153-164.
Due to the wiki by 5pm: mid-term exam performance survey
FRIDAY,OCTOBER26
FOOD ANDFAMILY
(Sitting down to a nuclear family meal has not always been a part of traditional eat-
ing habits. In this class, we will explore variations in who was given what kind of
food, when, and how, with what implications for ancient society at large.)
Readings
Garnsey, Peter. 1999. Food and the Family, in Food and Society in Classical Antiquity.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 100-112.
Garnsey, Peter. 1988. Child rearing in ancient Italy, in Cities, Peasants and Food in
Classical Antiquity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 253-271.
Nielsen, Hanne Sigismund. 1998. Roman Children at Mealtimes,Meals in Social
Context, ed. Inge Nielsen and Hanne Nielsen. Aarhus: Aarhus University
Press, 56-66.
MONDAY,OCTOBER29
FOOD AND... SEX?
(Gender and status played a large part in any individuals role in dining. In this
class, we will explore textual and art historical sources regarding the role of women
in different dining contexts.)
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Readings
Roller, Matthew. 2003. Horizontal Women: Posture and Sex in the Roman
Convivium,American Journal of Philology143.2 (Special Issue: Roman
Dining): 377-422.
WEDNESDAY,OCTOBER31
FOOD FOR THEDEAD
(In this class, we will examine how dining with the dead reflected life for the living,
and how funerary iconography and ritual colors our understanding of food, drinkand ritual in the ancient world.)
Readings
Lindsay, Hugh. 1998. Eating with the Dead: The Roman Funerary Banquet, in
Meals in a Social Context, ed. Inge Nielsen and Hanne Nielsen. Aarhus:
Aarhus University Press, 67-80.
Tuck, Anthony S. 1994. The Etruscan Seated Banquet: Villanovan Ritual and
Etruscan Iconography,American Journal of Archaeology98.4: 617-628.
FRIDAY,NOVEMBER2
FOOD AND THESTATE
(While the ancient world didnt have an FDA as such, the state did play a part in
what kinds of food people had access to and how they ate it once they did. In this
class, we will examine how different states controlled food and to what end, as well
as how rulers and their administrations used food to convince their subjects that
they were fit and right to rule.)
Readings
Beer, Michael. 2010. State control of food: Spartan diet and Roman sumptuary
laws, in Taste or Taboo: Dietary Choices in Antiquity. Devon, England: Prospect
Books, 101-115.
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Malmberg, S. 2007. Dazzling dining: banquets as an expression of imperiallegitimacy, inEat, Drink and Be Merry (Luke 12:19): Food and Wine in
Byzantium (In Honour of Professor A.A.M. Bryer),ed. Leslie Brubaker
and Kallirroe Linardou. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 75-92.
MONDAY,NOVEMBER5
FROMPOLITICS TORELIGION(AGAIN):EARLYCHRISTIANITY
(In this class, we will explore how the practice of and regulations of a developing
Christianity both relied upon and changed pre-Christian Mediterranean dininghabits, with what implications for ancient society at large. Particular attention will
be paid to changing vocabulary surrounding food and religion, and portrayal in
art.)
Readings
Bynum, Caroline Walker. 1987. Food as control of self and Epilogue inHolyFeast and Holy Fast: the Religious Significance of Food to Medieval Women.
Berkeley: University of California Press, 189-218; 297-302.
Vroom, Joanita. 2007. The changing dining habits at Christs table, inEat, Drinkand Be Merry (Luke 12:19): Food and Wine in Byzantium (In Honour of Professor
A.A.M. Bryer), ed. Leslie Brubaker and Kallirroe Linardou. Burlington, VT:
Ashgate, 191-222.
First draft and summary form due by midnight.
WEDNESDAY,NOVEMBER7
FOOD INBYZANTIUM
(As the Roman empire split and became two, with the eastern half continuing as
what we now know as the Byzantine empire, food and drink practices continued to
retain visibly Roman characteristics as well as develop into new practices and hab-
its. In this class, we will explore the context of those similarities and changes, and
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discuss whether or not food practices influence how we talk about a Byzantineversus Roman empire.)
Readings
Kolbaba, Tia. 2000. The Lists, Their Authors, and Their Audience and Unclean
Food in the Lists, in The Byzantine Lists: The Errors of the Latins. Urbana &
Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 23-31, 145-162.
Talbot, Alice-Mary. 2007. Mealtime in monasteries: the culture of the Byzantine
refectory, inEat, Drink and Be Merry (Luke 12:19): Food and Wine inByzantium (In Honour of Professor A.A.M. Bryer),ed. Leslie Brubaker
and Kallirroe Linardou. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 109-126.
FRIDAY,NOVEMBER9
FOODFROM THEEAST:ARAB CUISINE IN THEMEDIEVALMEDITERRANEAN
(While the earlier classes on others and on food acquisition during travel show
that the Mediterranean was a place of mobility and connectivity, this class will high-
light how, through food, we can explore the connectivity of the ancient Mediterra-nean world.)
Readings
Korobeinikov, D. 2007. A sultan in Constantinople: the feasts of Ghiyath al-Din Kay
Khusraw I, inEat, Drink and Be Merry (Luke 12:19): Food and Wine in
Byzantium (In Honour of Professor A.A.M. Bryer),ed. Leslie Brubaker
and Kallirroe Linardou. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 93-108.
Rosenberger, Bernard. 2008. Arab Cuisine and Its Contribution to EuropeanCulture, inFood: A Culinary History from Antiquity to the Present,ed. Jean-
Louis Flandrin and Massimo Montanari. New York: Columbia University
Press, 207-223.
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MONDAY,NOVEMBER12FOOD ANDMEDICINE
(Treatment for illnesses did not always come in a pill bottle, and more often than
not, not even from doctors. In this class, we will explore how medical practice in
the ancient world relied on food, how they defined medicine with regard to food,
and how it compares to modern medicine.)
Readings
Garnsey, Peter. 1999. Malnutrition, inFood and Society in Classical Antiquity.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 43-61.
Riddle, John M. 1997. The Herbs Known to the Ancients, in Eves Herbs: A History
of Contraception and Abortion in the West. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 35-53.
Wilkes, John M. and Shaun Hill. 2006. Medical Approaches to Food, inFood in the
Ancient World. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 211-244.
WEDNESDAY,NOVEMBER14
FOOD FOR THEMASSES
(Because of the sources, much of what we know about food comes from elite litera-
ture and art. However, archaeology is expanding that picture widely and in innova-
tive directions, and in this class we will explore how we can reach a better picture
of what normal people ate on a daily basis.)
Readings
Garnsey, Peter. 1999. Haves and Havenots, inFood and Society in Classical Antiquity.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 113-127.
Montanari, Massimo. 2008. Peasants, Warriors, Priests: Images of Society and Styles
of Diet, inFood: A Culinary History from Antiquity to the Present, ed. Jean-
Louis Flandrin and Massimo Montanari. New York: Columbia University
Press, 178-188.
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FRIDAY,NOVEMBER16
FEASTS ANDFEASTING (PARTI)
(Just as earlier classes focused on dining at the household level and outside the
household setting, this class will focus on dining at a grand scale and special occa-
sions: the feast.)
Readings
Donahue, John F. 2003. Toward a typology of Roman public feasting, in American
Journal of Philology124.3 (Special Issue: Roman Dining): 423-441.
Douglas, C. Wilson and William L. Rathje. 2001. Garbage and the modern
American feast, inFeasts: Archaeological and Ethnographic Perspectives on
Food, Politics and Power, ed. Michael Dietler and Brian Hayden. Washington,
DC & London: Smithsonian Institute Press, 404-421.
Garnsey, Peter. 1999. You are with whom you eat, in Food and Society in Classical
Antiquity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 128-138.
MONDAY,NOVEMBER19
FEASTS ANDFEASTING (PARTII)
Class activity: making food like the ancients
(Students will prepare food to bring in and share according to the recipes
that have come down to us from antiquity. They will share the difficulties
they had in preparation and finding ingredients, and how they found the
taste. If they do not have the means or facilities to try out a recipe, they will
choose a recipe and write a 1-2 page discussion of what kinds of difficultiesthey are likely to encounter.)
Second draft and summary form due by midnight.
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WEDNESDAY,NOVEMBER21
NOCLASS-THANKSGIVING BREAK
FRIDAY,NOVEMBER23
NOCLASS-THANKSGIVING BREAK
MONDAY,NOVEMBER26
NOCLASS-MEETINGS ABOUT FINAL PAPERS
WEDNESDAY,NOVEMBER28
FEASTS ANDFEASTING (PARTIII)
(Having returned from Thanksgiving break, we will return to the issue of feasts and
feasting and how it may or may not have differed in the ancient Mediterranean.)
Readings
Dietler, Michael and Brian Hayden. 2001. Digesting the feast - good to eat, good to
drink, good to think: an introduction, in Feasts: Archaeological and
Ethnographic Perspectives on Food, Politics and Power, ed. Michael Dietler and
Brian Hayden. Washington, DC & London: Smithsonian Institute Press, 1-
20.
Joannes, Francis. 2008. The social function of banquets in the Earliest
Civilizations, inFood: A Culinary History from Antiquity to the Present,ed.
Jean-Louis Flandrin and Massimo Montanari. New York: Columbia
University Press, 32-37.Lev-Tov, Justin and Kevin M. McGeough. 2006. Examining Feasting in Late Bronze
Age Syro-Palestine Through Ancient Texts and Bones, in The Archaeology of
Food and Identity, ed. Katheryn C. Twiss. Carbondale, Ill.: Center for
Archaeological Investigations at Southern Illinois University Carbondale,
85-111.
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FRIDAY,NOVEMBER30GLUTTONY ANDMORALITY
(Just as fear of not eating enough was a looming specter in the ancient world, the
notion of eating too much also carried its negative implications. In this class, we
will examine how overeating in the ancient world was written about and depicted
in art.)
Readings
Beer, Michael. 2010. Gluttony versus abstinence: the tyrant and the saint, in Tasteor Taboo: Dietary Choices in Antiquity.Devon, England: Prospect Books, 116-
121.
Petronius, The Dinner of Trimalchio, inSatyricon.
MONDAY,DECEMBER3
FOOD ANDMORALITYPARTII
(We will continue the discussion from the previous week, building upon how dis-
approval of excess played out in politics and morality.)
Readings
Gowers, Emily. 1993. An Approach to Eating in The Loaded Table: Representations of
Food in Roman Literature.Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1-49.
WEDNESDAY,DECEMBER5
FOOD ON THEROAD
(Since we live in a world that is consistently described as increasingly globalized,
this final lecture-as-such focuses on how much people traveled in the ancient
world, how they dealt with food and taboos [or not] while they did, and whom they
might have met along the way - and whattheyate, with what implications for cross-
cultural exchange through foodways.)
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Readings
Constable, Olivia Remie. 2003. Accepting all comers: a cross-cultural institution
in late antiquity, inHousing the Stranger in the Mediterranean World: Lodging,
Travel and Trade in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 11-39.
Dry, Carol.A. 1997. Food and the Roman army: travel, transport and
transmission, inFood on the Move, ed. H. Walker. Totnes: Prospect Books,
84-96.Matthews, John. 2006. Introduction and Food and Diet, in The Journey of
Theophanes: Travel, Business, and Daily Life in the Roman East. New Haven &
London: Yale University Press, 1-11, 138-180.
FRIDAY,DECEMBER7
FOODPOEMS
Readings
Selections from Washington, Peter (ed.). 2003.Eat, Drink, and Be Merry: Poems AboutFood and Drink. New York: Knopf.
FINAL PAPER DUE BYMIDNIGHT.
MONDAY,DECEMBER10-WEDNESDAY,DECEMBER12
READINGPERIOD
FRIDAY,DECEMBER14
FINAL EXAM
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AND NOW, FORREVELRY!
food and drink in the ancient world