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An SNF Paideia Course - To learn more about this program, please click here

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Course Instructor: Sean M. Saxon

Email: [email protected]

Classroom: Van Pelt 113*, TR (12:00pm-1:30pm)

Note that a variety of class sessions will be held in alternative locations (both on and off campus)

Office Hours: MW, 10am (Williams 521)

Course Description

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Nourishing the Nation explores the profound connections between food, identity, memory, and power, investigating how the spaces of the kitchen and table become stages for cultural expression, political resistance, and social transformation. From intimate family dinners to communal meals that bring strangers together, the act of sharing food reveals the stories we tell about who we are and the worlds we inhabit. Through literature, film, and critical essays, this course interrogates the table as a site of dialogue, ritual, and generativity, asking how food shapes both personal identity and collective action.

Students will engage in a dynamic exploration of themes such as culinary literacy, the intersections of food and emotion, and the role of food in democracy. Individual reflections called “recipes” invite students to connect their own experiences to course material, whether reflecting on the metaphor of the cookbook, the dynamics of the family table, or the transformative power of food documentary film and literature. The course culminates in a collaborate creation - poesis - of a “cookbook”. Together, we will examine how the seemingly simple act of sharing a table becomes a profound practice of storytelling, solidarity, and resistance.

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Learning Objectives

1. Critically analyze the cultural, political, and emotional dimensions of food in society & in its cultural productions (literature, film, and critical texts)
2. Explore the relationship between food, identity, and power, interrogating how the kitchen and table function as spaces for memory, dialogue, and action
3. Understand the value of the shared table as a space for dialogue across difference
4. Reflect on individual experiences with food and its role in shaping norms, relationships, and social interactions
5. Hone skills in creative and multimodal expression through podcasting and “cookbook” design
6. Connect course themes to broader societal questions about democracy, equity, and cultural memory by imagining food as a medium for preservation or change

Required Texts

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While the overwhelming majority of texts / podcasts / documentaries will be made available via Canvas, students will be required to purchase OR check out from the library (please consult with the library before purchasing!) two texts for the course:

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Assignments & Grading

(Click on each for a detailed description)