Time Around the Table: A Culinary History of Italy

In this course food will be our guide in the exploration of Italian history and culture. The choices that a nation, in our case Italy, made and makes about issues surrounding food tell us about identity, be it social, national, regional, ethnic, or religious. We will examine a number of questions: What do we mean when we talk about Italian food? What did one eat in Ancient Rome or during the Renaissance? And what about today? What are the historical events that have shaped what we have in mind when we say “Italian food”? And what about “Italian-American” food? (Not open to students who have taken FYSE 1344).