• Offered by School of Archaeology and Anthropology
  • ANU College ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
  • Classification Advanced
    Research
    Specialist
  • Course subject Culture, Health and Medicine

Food is essential and meaningful. Attention to the production, availability, and consumption of food has been heightened along with research into effects of climate change, the global incidents of the adulteration of food causing death and injury, growing rates of obesity and poor nutrition leading to chronic disease, rising food prices due to energy costs that threaten food security in impoverished communities, and the controversial development of genetically modified foods. Food has become a source of anxiety and conflict. While stories of contaminated foods fuel social anxieties over the vulnerability of the food supply, the increasing number of food riots in the developing world indicates a gross imbalance in a distribution system that creates fatal deprivation and wasteful abundance. In this interdisciplinary course we will examine agricultural production, the science of food, the global supply chain of food commodities, food safety and food-borne pathogens, malnutrition, diet and nutrition regimes, and the politics around food justice movements. Food is entangled in historical, political, economic, social, and ethical systems that serve to shape our identities, our communities, and our ideological beliefs. Through the lens of food, we will examine how the future of human health is intimately tied to the future of how and what we will eat.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Analyse the modern food system and its devastating consequences to human health and the environment
  2. Develop writing skills through critically reading and reflecting on the theoretical literature.
  3. Work collaboratively to produce original research that contributes to public scholarship on the topic. Gain awareness of local and global organizations involved with food production and food justice movements.
  4. Actively participate in the debate to find solutions to food related problems.

Indicative Assessment

  1. Seminar Participation 10% [LO 1,4,5]
  2. Letter to the Editor 10% [LO 1,2,4,5]
  3. Presentation and Leading of Discussion 10% [LO 1,2,4,5]
  4. Online Discussion Board Postings 20% [LO 1,2,5]
  5. Group Project 50% (each student will be assessed based on a collective assessment and an individual assessment to measure individual contribution to the group project) [LO 3]

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Workload

The workload will include three contact hours per week and seven hours of independent reading, research, writing, and preparation for seminar.

Prescribed Texts

Updated reading material will be provided each year on the course wattle site.



Specialisations

Fees

Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.  

If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.

Student Contribution Band:
2
Unit value:
6 units

If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.  Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.

Units EFTSL
6.00 0.12500
Domestic fee paying students
Year Fee
2016 $3894
International fee paying students
Year Fee
2016 $5190
Note: Please note that fee information is for current year only.

Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links

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The list of offerings for future years is indicative only.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.

Second Semester

Class number Class start date Last day to enrol Census date Class end date Mode Of Delivery Class Summary
9471 24 Jul 2017 31 Jul 2017 31 Aug 2017 27 Oct 2017 In Person N/A
9548 24 Jul 2017 31 Jul 2017 31 Aug 2017 27 Oct 2017 Online N/A

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