Summer 2008 Courses - Politics - Osher Lifelong Learning Institute - Humboldt State University Extended Education

SUMMER 2008

Politics

You Are What You Eat:
the Politics of Food

We rarely pause to consider the food we eat, and when we do, our primary concern is more likely to be calorie content or nutritional value than anything else. Yet food is imbued with significant social and cultural meaning and evokes intense political and economic debate. Using such books as Michael Pollen’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma, we will explore some major political and economic debates in the context of food; how people define their interests, ideas, goals and strategies in the kitchen, farm, factory, corporation and government. In the most general terms, we will explore the politics of food from farm to fork. Note: Registrations for this course will be processed in the order received beginning in July.

date ..... Tues., Aug. 5-Sept. 2

time ..... 6:30-8:30 p.m.

fee/members ..... $50 (crn 43409)

fee/nonmembers ..... $65 (crn 43424)

place ..... Humboldt Bay Aquatic Center, Multipurpose Room

instr ..... Noah Zerbe

Noah Zerbe is an assistant professor of political science at Humboldt State University. He is a member of the Arcata Educational Farm. His research centers on the political economy of food, and he has published on topics ranging from the trade dispute between the U.S. and the European Union over genetically modified foods, to the food aid debate in Southern Africa, and the development of regulatory systems for food safety.