**Disclaimer**
This syllabus is to be used as a guideline only. The information provided is a summary of topics to be covered in the class.
Information contained in this document such as assignments, grading scales, due dates, office hours, required books and materials may be from
a previous semester and are subject to change. Please refer to your instructor for the most recent version of the syllabus.
School of Art
Arizona State University
Fall 2021
Art, Food, and Consumption
Professor Angélica J. Afanador-Pujol
Class time: Mondays, 10:45 a.m. -1:30 p.m.
Location: Mathews Hall 120. This is a small classroom, where we cannot guarantee safe
social distancing. Per university policy, masks are required. Please wear it over your nose
and mouth at all times during class for the health and safety of yourself and others.
Office: Art Building 238
Office phone: (480) 727-9165. Please, do not leave messages at this number Office
Hours: Mondays, 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. or Wednesdays 1:30-2:30 p.m.. All office hours
will be conducted via Zoom. Please make an appointment. E-mail:
(preferred method of contact)
The representation of food and consumption has become of utmost importance in recent
years. From Slow Food movements to “Fast Food Nations,” food has been central to
popular discourse and a lucrative source of revenue for the media. This seminar takes a
critical look at the ways cultures through time and space have conceptualized,
constructed, and represented food and art. The course is highly selective and it is intended
to expose students to different theoretical and methodological frameworks for their own
exploration of the relationship of food and art in the images they see around them. Art in
this course is widely defined and weekly readings may include discussions on paintings,
book illustrations, gardens, t.v. shows, and the architecture of restaurants, to name a few.
Many of the readings will be highly theoretical, while others will look at specific case
studies that exemplify the relationship between food, art, and representation. We will
study particular case studies that look at the role of food and art in Europe, the U.S., and
Latin America. Many of the readings will ask students to think about art and food and
their relationship to power structures, race, colonization, and gender in Pre-Columbian
times, the Early Modern world, and today.
Student Learning Outcomes:
• Understand some of the major theoretical currents about art and food
• Ability to read and think critically about academic and non-academic writing
• Ability to interpret the multifaceted role of representations of food in public life
• Ability to research, describe, synthesize, explain, and write about the function of art and
food for general and academic audiences
Readings:
Required Textbook: Food and Culture: A Reader, edited by Carole Counihan and Penny Van
Esterik (New York: Routledge), 2013.
1
1 of 14
, Available online through the ASU library:
http://lib.myilibrary.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/ProductDetail.aspx?id=418397
You may also rent the textbook at the ASU bookstore.
2. Course readings posted on Canvas. IF YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW TO ACCESS
CANVAS, LEARN TO DO SO IMMEDIATELY. IT IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE
COMPLETION OF THIS COURSE. Many of the sets of readings in the syllabus are
intended to illustrate how different authors, starting from very different theoretical
premises and therefore employing different methodologies, arrive at very different
conclusions. Students should compare and contrast the different arguments as they read.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Students will be required to attend classes, complete weekly readings, and do in-class
presentations on readings, authors, videos, and research in progress. This is a seminar and
students are expected to lead the class meetings and come prepared to answer and pose
questions about the readings and class contents.
Attendance and Participation:
Participation for the duration of the class period is mandatory and an essential part of the
seminar. It constitutes 20% of your final grade. Always read your assigned material in
advance. It will help you participate, understand new concepts and key issues in the field,
and recognize images and vocabulary. Everyone will contribute to discussion in a
particular way; try to be aware of your role and respect your colleagues. Each class, a
group of students will be responsible to lead the discussion of the readings assigned.
Those students will present a short biography of the authors and state the thesis of their
assigned reading. On selected weeks, all students will bring two to three questions about
each of the readings assigned that day to help frame our discussion. Students will also
take turns making short videos (2-3 minutes) about museum objects that relate to the
week’s readings or of themselves making a snack that relates to the readings. Snacks
must be legal, edible, and preferably inexpensive. Short videos must explain how the
chosen objects or snacks relate to that week’s readings. Students will share their video
with the class.
Please note that class sessions may be recorded and recordings provided to enrolled students,
instructors or instructional support personnel. If you have concerns about being recorded,
please contact the course instructor.
*Students who come to every class, but who do not participate will receive an E for their
“Participation” portion of their grade, for attendance alone does not meet class
expectations.
Excused Absences:
Attendance and participation in class activities is an essential part of the learning process,
and students are expected to attend class regularly. Some absences are, however,
unavoidable. Excused absences for classes will be given without penalty to the grade in
the case of (1) a university-sanctioned event [ACD 304-02]; (2) religious holidays [ACD
304-04]; a list can be found here https://eoss.asu.edu/cora/holidays; (3) work performed
2
2 of 14
This syllabus is to be used as a guideline only. The information provided is a summary of topics to be covered in the class.
Information contained in this document such as assignments, grading scales, due dates, office hours, required books and materials may be from
a previous semester and are subject to change. Please refer to your instructor for the most recent version of the syllabus.
School of Art
Arizona State University
Fall 2021
Art, Food, and Consumption
Professor Angélica J. Afanador-Pujol
Class time: Mondays, 10:45 a.m. -1:30 p.m.
Location: Mathews Hall 120. This is a small classroom, where we cannot guarantee safe
social distancing. Per university policy, masks are required. Please wear it over your nose
and mouth at all times during class for the health and safety of yourself and others.
Office: Art Building 238
Office phone: (480) 727-9165. Please, do not leave messages at this number Office
Hours: Mondays, 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. or Wednesdays 1:30-2:30 p.m.. All office hours
will be conducted via Zoom. Please make an appointment. E-mail:
(preferred method of contact)
The representation of food and consumption has become of utmost importance in recent
years. From Slow Food movements to “Fast Food Nations,” food has been central to
popular discourse and a lucrative source of revenue for the media. This seminar takes a
critical look at the ways cultures through time and space have conceptualized,
constructed, and represented food and art. The course is highly selective and it is intended
to expose students to different theoretical and methodological frameworks for their own
exploration of the relationship of food and art in the images they see around them. Art in
this course is widely defined and weekly readings may include discussions on paintings,
book illustrations, gardens, t.v. shows, and the architecture of restaurants, to name a few.
Many of the readings will be highly theoretical, while others will look at specific case
studies that exemplify the relationship between food, art, and representation. We will
study particular case studies that look at the role of food and art in Europe, the U.S., and
Latin America. Many of the readings will ask students to think about art and food and
their relationship to power structures, race, colonization, and gender in Pre-Columbian
times, the Early Modern world, and today.
Student Learning Outcomes:
• Understand some of the major theoretical currents about art and food
• Ability to read and think critically about academic and non-academic writing
• Ability to interpret the multifaceted role of representations of food in public life
• Ability to research, describe, synthesize, explain, and write about the function of art and
food for general and academic audiences
Readings:
Required Textbook: Food and Culture: A Reader, edited by Carole Counihan and Penny Van
Esterik (New York: Routledge), 2013.
1
1 of 14
, Available online through the ASU library:
http://lib.myilibrary.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/ProductDetail.aspx?id=418397
You may also rent the textbook at the ASU bookstore.
2. Course readings posted on Canvas. IF YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW TO ACCESS
CANVAS, LEARN TO DO SO IMMEDIATELY. IT IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE
COMPLETION OF THIS COURSE. Many of the sets of readings in the syllabus are
intended to illustrate how different authors, starting from very different theoretical
premises and therefore employing different methodologies, arrive at very different
conclusions. Students should compare and contrast the different arguments as they read.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Students will be required to attend classes, complete weekly readings, and do in-class
presentations on readings, authors, videos, and research in progress. This is a seminar and
students are expected to lead the class meetings and come prepared to answer and pose
questions about the readings and class contents.
Attendance and Participation:
Participation for the duration of the class period is mandatory and an essential part of the
seminar. It constitutes 20% of your final grade. Always read your assigned material in
advance. It will help you participate, understand new concepts and key issues in the field,
and recognize images and vocabulary. Everyone will contribute to discussion in a
particular way; try to be aware of your role and respect your colleagues. Each class, a
group of students will be responsible to lead the discussion of the readings assigned.
Those students will present a short biography of the authors and state the thesis of their
assigned reading. On selected weeks, all students will bring two to three questions about
each of the readings assigned that day to help frame our discussion. Students will also
take turns making short videos (2-3 minutes) about museum objects that relate to the
week’s readings or of themselves making a snack that relates to the readings. Snacks
must be legal, edible, and preferably inexpensive. Short videos must explain how the
chosen objects or snacks relate to that week’s readings. Students will share their video
with the class.
Please note that class sessions may be recorded and recordings provided to enrolled students,
instructors or instructional support personnel. If you have concerns about being recorded,
please contact the course instructor.
*Students who come to every class, but who do not participate will receive an E for their
“Participation” portion of their grade, for attendance alone does not meet class
expectations.
Excused Absences:
Attendance and participation in class activities is an essential part of the learning process,
and students are expected to attend class regularly. Some absences are, however,
unavoidable. Excused absences for classes will be given without penalty to the grade in
the case of (1) a university-sanctioned event [ACD 304-02]; (2) religious holidays [ACD
304-04]; a list can be found here https://eoss.asu.edu/cora/holidays; (3) work performed
2
2 of 14
