Alfredo Triff Ph.D.
Room 3604-37 (Building #3)
Tel. 305.237.7554
E-mail: atriff@mdc.edu
Office Hours: Posted
Main text: Before Dinner: Philosophy and Ethics of Food, by Michael Korthals and Making sense of Taste: Food and Philosophy, by Carolyn Korsmeyer. We also use handouts and my own posts.
Goals
Can you tell the flavor of saffron, or the smell of walnut oil, in a blind test? When you buy a trimmed and cleaned boneless chicken breast in the supermarket, do you think about what life in a chicken coop is like, or whether the chicken farmer makes a living wage? Are your food choices based on habit, economics, health issues, convenience, the spirit of adventure, or image consciousness?
The consumption of food is often the form of consumption that remains the most distant from our reflective insight. While eating may be one of the most basic and necessary operations of the human body, it seems that actual consumption of food is only ever an issue for us through the various symbolic forms of consumption that pervade our world: food as a commodity for profit; food as a stimulus or escape; food as a source of personal or cultural identity; food as a luxurious excess; food as a means to a better body, better image, better place in society; food as a political device; and even food as an enemy. Has food, properly seen as a means to a necessary biological end, become the means to many other ends that have little or nothing to do with our physical sustenance?
This class will examine the various ways that the consumption of food is never just that –mere alimentation. Over the next twelve weeks, we will read and discuss the insights of philosophers, epicureans, scientists and journalists –food lovers, food haters, and food activists– in an attempt to formulate a philosophical discourse about food.
Evaluation
1. Grades "A," "B" and "C" stand for outstanding, good and average respectively. "D" is below average. "F" means not enough work to justify credit for the course.
2. We have four multiple-choice tests: two quizzes, (20 points) a midterm and a final exam (60 points); blog posting (10%) and class participation and effort for the remainging 10 points. This breakdown reflects a qualitative approximation since my grades are generally curved.
3. Students are supposed to write weekly 100-word comments in this blog. They are mandatory (as Gordon Rule). We'll do it as theme-and-response: I'll post entries to which you are supposed to respond. We'll talk about this in more deatil.
4. Attendance is expected. Two non-excused absences are permitted. Each absence thereafter will lower the participation grade by a 1/3 of a grade. Missing exams must be justified by a doctor’s note or the equivalent.
5. Homework is very important. The routine is as follows: We start each class with a HW-review. I'll compell you to answer the questions already assigned, which count as participation in class.
Schedule of classes
Chapter 1
Good food, good eating, how it all began.
What is the matter with good food?
Slow Food vs. Fast Food.
A brief history of “junk food” (what’s the “junk” in the food).
Quiz #1.
Chapter 2
Philosophy and nutrition
Fasting & dieting. Vegetarianism.
Emotional eating.
Brief history of nutrition: The French Paradox, Nutrition and economy.
Consumption
Mid term exam.
Chapter 3
Gastronomy: Aesthetic, moral, cultural and social aspects of food.
You are not what you eat.
Culinary Arts.
The “Chef phenomenon” in America.
Film: The Future of Food.
Midterm Exam.
Chapter 4
Modern and Postmodern lifestyles and food styles.
Nature, risks, globalization, individualization.
Chapter 5
Ethics and Politics of Nutrition: liberal vs. deliberative perspectives.
Autonomy vs. identity in a community
The neutral liberal perspective of autonomy.
The deliberative perspective of nutrition.
Final Exam.
