Genes, Peoples and Cuisines

Transcription

1 Department of Humanities, Sciences, Social Sciences and Health Sciences (310) Quarter: Spring 2011 Genes, Peoples and Cuisines Instructor: Richard C. Delerins Dates: March 30 - June 15 Days/Time: Wednesdays, 7-10pm Course XL 137 X /Anthropology Reg # W3645 # Units: 4 Course Description: Why humans made the food choices they have and what their culinary practices tell us about them, their history and their world outlook. How will genetic findings and techniques change nutrition and cuisine? From the perspective of the anthropology of food and cuisine, we present the concept of nutritive strategies ; diets and cuisines connected to the government of the body; longevity, aging, beauty, strength, intellectual capacities or prevention of pathologies. We explore the challenges of 21st century cuisines : preserving the environment and culinary traditions, feeding our genes (nutrigenomics) and our taste buds: from Paleo diets to sustainable cuisines and molecular gastronomy. The lessons will take on a mixed format of lecture, student presentation and discussion. Every week we have an in-class food/culinary tasting associated with the topic of the week. We present and we taste recipes from: Paleo cuisine, Medieval cuisine, Aztec Cuisine, the Mediterranean diet, the Okinawa diet, Sustainable cuisines, the APOE Gene Diet As instructor, I purchase and prepare Menu items, bring them to class to share with students to deepen in their understanding of the food/culture topic under discussion. Goals & Learning Objectives: 1. Use an anthropological approach to understand the nature of culinary practices ; study the principles that explicitly or implicitly rule cuisines conceived as systems. 2. Understand how food, cuisines and diets are associated with health and genetics; study peoples, cuisines and diets from around the world and throughout history. 3. Explore the challenges of 21st century cuisines : preserving the environment and culinary traditions, feeding our genes (nutrigenomics) and our taste buds 4. Students will be introduced to and will study and taste with instructor dozens of recipes; they will learn how to conduct a recipe analysis, learn rare cooking skills and techniques and ingredients from Medieval cuisine to molecular gastronomy. 1

2 Required Text: Hungry Planet, What the World Eats, by Peter Menzel & Faith D Aluiso, Ten Speed Press, 2005, ISBN UCLA Extension Contact for this Course: (Program Representative Name and Contact Information) Student Records: Students can access and update student records online by visiting: and clicking on My.Extension on the left navigation bar, selecting Student's Course Essentials, and following the directions to log in. Student's Course Essentials lets you view your grades, request an official transcript, change credit status on a current course, obtain enrollment verification, update your personal information, and much more. Student Conduct: Student Conduct: By enrolling in this course, all students are expected to have reviewed the Student Conduct and Sexual Harassment information provided in the current Quarterly catalog (print or online) under General Information. Accommodations: If you need any accommodations for a disability, please contact the UCLA Extension Disabled Student Services at: (310) or via access@uclaextension.edu Grading: Assessment will be broken down into: Participation 20% Research paper 60% In-class presentations 20%. There will be no final exam for this course. All work must be completed to attain a passing grade in the course. Attendance is crucial. I encourage you to take advantage of my office hours whether you want to discuss an issue in depth, review a paper idea, or ask a specific question. Office Hours: Wednesday: 5-6:45 p.m. or by appointment - Rolfe Hall Room delerins@socgen.ucla.edu 2

3 Course grades will be based on the following: Total Points for the Course (Estimate): 100 points % # Points Assignment/Exam Letter Grade Equivalent: A (90-100%) points B (80-89%) points C (70-79%) points D (60-69%) points F (<59%) points All grades are final when filed by the instructor on the Final Grade Report. Course Outline Date Lecture Topic Readings Quizzes/Exams and Week 1 Introduction to the issues Lecture: 21st century Cuisine, Nutrition and Genetics. What is cuisine? Food Tasting # 1 Assignment Due Dates Week 2 Genetics, Agriculture, Cuisine and Civilization The Raw or the cooked: How cooking made us human? Lecture: Where our food comes from: Genetic diversity and the Centers of origin. DNA, Paleo Cuisine, Vegetarian diet and philosophy. Family 1: The Ahmeds of Cairo. Recipe Analysis: Ingredients, techniques, tools, meal (order) Week 3 Food Tasting # 2 When History (or mythology) and Culinary practices meet human genetics: the Jewish people & the Lemba cuisine. Video: Documentary film: The Lemba, The Black Jews of Southern Africa (NOVA, 2000). Lecture: Genetic History a new research field Family 2: Recipe Analysis: Food Tasting # 3 Week 4 Peoples, Cuisines and Diets from around the world. Family 3: Recipe Analysis: Lecture: Why are we interested 3

4 in diets from around the World? Food Tasting # 4 Week 5 American Food Habits, Positive health and Nutritive cultures Lecture: Cuisine, nutrition and euthenics in the United States: the invention of improved wellbeing. Food Tasting # 5 Family 4: Recipe Analysis: Week 6 Epigenetics, Cuisine and Personalized health. Lecture: Food, Epigenetics and Nutrigenomics: Public health and/or personalized health. Video: Documentary Film: The Ghost in Your Genes, PBS & BBC (2005). Case study: 23 and Me Food Tasting # 6 Family 5: Recipe Analysis: Week 7 America s first cuisines and the Columbian exchange. Lecture: The First and the Second Food Globalization Food Tasting # 7 Family 6: Recipe Analysis: Week 8 Cuisine and Genetics of taste. Lecture: Food, taste and preferences: Is it a matter of taste? Food Tasting # 8 Family 7: Recipe Analysis: Week 9 Cuisine, Body and Beverage: The Government of the Cellular Body Lecture: lemonades, mineral waters, sodas, tonics, Sports drinks & Probiotics Family 8: Recipe Analysis: Case Study: POM Wonderful, Sunkist & Red Bull. Food Tasting # 9 Week 10 Tomorrow s Table: Hopes and Fears. Lecture: The Ethics of What we Eat: why our food choices matter? GMOs & the Food Family 9:Recipe Analysis: 4

5 industry. Week 11 Week 12 Molecular gastronomy demonstration & Food Tasting # 10 Sustainable Cuisines & the Environment Lecture: Sustainable Cuisines, Terroir & Slow Food. Case study: Whole Foods Market Inc versus Growing Power Inc. (Will Allen, Urban farmer) Food Tasting # 11 Conclusion and Student Presentations Potluck (Culinary event) Family 10: Recipe Analysis: Final Research Paper It is estimated students will spend approximately 2-3 hours outside class each week completing class assignments, readings and studying for exams. Course Syllabus Subject to Update by the Instructor 5