CSP 28 Jews and Food

Food is a window into culture. The study of how people procure, prepare, and eat food -- known as foodways -- tells us about political, social, cultural, economic, and religious dimensions of life often ignored in traditional academic approaches. From pre-meal hand-washing to challah-baking, the rituals of Jewish life intersect with daily cooking and eating, and the intricacies of such have been the subject of debate and discussion since the earliest days of Judaism. Even among the least religious, nearly every Jewish holiday or life cycle event is marked with customary foods (apples and honey; bagels and lox), drinks (wine, seltzer), or entire meal practices (the Passover seder or perhaps even Chinese food on Christmas). We will follow a loosely chronological and global format starting with the ancient Israelite period through to the early 21st century, with an emphasis on the context of Jewish immigrant cultures in the modern era. This course aims to foster a critical approach to the study of food as a "text" of cultural analysis -- be it cooking or eating. We will read and write about primary sources (e.g., cookbooks), anthropological theory, and secondary sources (mostly historical or sociological in nature) to explore how examining food illuminates culture.