Food,
Religion & Culture in the Middle East
Description
This
course explores the historical interrelationships between the religions and
foods of the Middle East and Mediterranean region. It is concerned with how
peoples in the region have used food to shape their religious, cultual, and
personal identities, and examines the different Middle Eastern “foodscapes”
they have created through the centuries. The course includes discussion of
feasting and fasting practices in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic religions, and
gives special attention to the culinary cultures of Iraq and connections with
the culinary cultures of India.
We will
combine a lecture format with hands-on practice in the preparation of Middle
Eastern recipes. You will have weekly reading assignments, a midterm and final
exam, participate in creating a portfolio of recipes with historical, literary
& cultural annotations, and practice preparing Middle Eastern dishes. The
goals of the course are to provide you with an in-depth understanding of the
importance of food in religious and cultural life in the
Communications
·
Prof. Juan E. Campo
(HSSB 3054) can be reached by email at: jcampo@religion.ucsb.edu;
phone: 893-3945. Office hours: M 3-4, W 11-12
·
Prof. Magda Campo
(HSSB 3058) can be reached by email at: campo@religion.ucsb.edu; phone: 893-3585. Office
hours: T 10-11, R 10-11
Note:
Email contact with the professors is only for emergencies and to make
appointments. We like to conduct face-to-face meetings with our students for
course-related business and questions about grades during office hours or by
appointment.
Required
Texts
J.E.
Campo & M. Campo, Religion & the Culinary Cultures of the Middle
East: A Reader (Available at GrafikArt)
Clifford
Wright, A Mediterranean Feast
Nawal
Nasrallah, Delights from the Garden of Eden
Sami
Zubaida & Richard Tapper, A Taste of Thyme: The Culinary Cultures of the
Recommended
Texts:
A.
Davidson, The Penguin Companion to Food
M. Pollan, Omnivore's Dilemma
C. Roden, The New Book of Middle Eastern Food
Course
Requirements
1.
Two ME food history
essays & 1 ME event (15%): 1/25, 2/15, 2/29
2.
Mid-term exam (20%):
2/6
3.
Map assignment (10%):
2/20
4.
Individual/Group food
& religion portfolio, 1st draft, 2/29
5.
Individual/Group food
& religion portfolio (15%/20%): Week of 3/10, no later than 3/14
6.
Final examination
(20%): Tuesday 3/18, 4-7 PM
Definition
of Foodscape. A key concept in this course
is that of “foodscape.” The term provides a way to talk about the culinary
culture(s) of a place as defined by the interactions of a variety of factors:
geography, climate and environment; religion, language, and cultural practices;
history; social organization, ethnicity, status and gender; science and
technology. Foodscapes are dynamic, not static, continually undergoing change,
diversification and homogenization, despite people's efforts to define
traditional, authentic, or `fit' food to eat. A foodscape is most clearly
evident in the actual preparation, presentation and eating of food, but it can
also be represented in texts, art, architecture, and even ordinary objects
connected with food production, cooking, serving, and eating or drinking. In
religions, foodscapes may be represented in mythic narratives and sacred texts,
ritual practices, feasting and fasting customs, and dietary rules. Foodscapes
interweave the body with society and culture, nature, and the world at large.
Lectures
& lab sessions: All lecture sessions
will be held in Broida 1640; lab/demo sessions will be held at the
Library
Reserve: Copies of Required Texts,
excluding the Reader, are available in the Library Reserve. Other
course-related materials are posted on the Library's Electronic Reserve: http://eres.library.ucsb.edu/eres/courseindex.aspx?error=&page=search.
Exams:
The midterm and the final will be
comprised of short answer & essay questions. The midterm will also have a
map section. There will be no make-up exam for the midterm. Final exams must be
taken on the scheduled date and time unless prior arrangements have been made
with Prof. M. Campo or Prof. J.E. Campo.
Short
essays: Each student is required to submit
three 1-page, printed essays. Two of them are relevant to the portfolio
project. Each essay must be accompanied by a separate list of resources used.
Each essay is worth 5 points. 1 point will be deducted for each day a paper is
late. Here is the schedule for submissions:
1.
2.
3.
In
researching the essays, you are encouraged to use course texts as well as do
independent research. Web sources are not allowed for this assignment.
Davidson's The Oxford Companion to Food (Ref TX349 .D36 2006); K.F.
Kiple and K.C. Ornelas's The Cambridge World History of Food (Ref
TX353.C255 2000); and S.H. Katz, ed., Encyclopedia of Food and Culture
(Ref GT2850 .E53 2003) are useful resources.
Map
assignment: To be posted on ERES.
Individual/Group
portfolio (first & final drafts): See
course reader for details.
Our
Standard of Academic Honesty and Responsibility: The Student Code of
Conduct clearly sets out the standard of academic honesty and responsibility in
which a student's work must be his or her own work. The faculty in Religious
Studies believes that all class assignments and exams enhance a student's
overall intellectual growth, as well as his or her mastery of a subject.
Plagiarism, the unauthorized submission of someone else's work as one's own,
completely undermines the learning process, and is one of the most serious
infractions of student conduct and the intellectual environment of the
university. Any students who commit plagiarism will receive a FAIL for the
course and we will ask the Dean of Students and the Dean of Undergraduate Studies
to suspend them from the university. Make certain that in your short essays,
map assignments, examinations, and food portfolios that you provide complete
citations for all sources (including materials from the web) cited directly
or indirectly, verbatim or paraphrased.
Linda Sawaya, Saudi Aramco World