Fall 2017 food-related classes

Click on the arrows to read more information about each course.

From the School of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering (ASE):

NOTE: Food Systems (ENV-09) will not be offered in Fall 2017. Food, Nutrition and Culture (ANTH-0126) will serve as the general introduction for the Food Systems and Nutrition Minor.

  • Food, Nutrition and Culture (ANTH-0126)
    Interplay of the act of eating with its biological and cultural correlates. Topics include cooking and the development of human social systems; physical and behavioral adaptations to diet; the relation of eating to human evolution; historical and symbolic attributes of food; dynamics and environmental consequences of global agribusiness; national cuisines; and food-based social movements for addressing injustice and inequality. Mo, We 1:30PM – 2:45PM 
  • Fieldwork Lab (ANTH-0161)
     A hands-on field course in ethnographic methods, the signature toolkit of cultural anthropology. Individual and collaborative small-scale projects. Students develop skills and experience in key strategies of “participant-observation”; research design; spatial, visual, and discourse analysis; formal and informal interviewing; fieldnote writing and coding; ethnographic writing. Fieldwork ethics, including IRB applications. Questions arising from the politics of difference, encounter, experience, and representation in relation to scholarly, community, and industry/client interests. Intensive but suitable for students at all levels. Wed 1:20PM – 4:20PM 
  • Endocrinology (BIO-0110)
     A comprehensive introduction to the chemical and physiological principle of hormonal integration in animals. Topics include endocrine regulation of metabolism, growth and development, reproduction, neural functions, mineral and water balance, behavior, and nutrition. Recommendations: BIO 13 and 14, or equivalent. Mo, We 10:30AM – 11:45AM 
  • General Physiology 1 (BIO-0115)
     Elements of homeostasis, circulation, respiration, and excretion are discussed at various levels, from the molecular to the organ system. Recommendations: BIO 13 and 14, or equivalent. Mo, We 1:30PM – 2:45PM 
  • Food and Schools (ED-0014)
     The story of food and schools, investigations into students’ own school experiences as they relate to food and school; the history of food in U.S. schools; the ways by which school food is a battleground for many beliefs about school and society; and how some schools approach feeding students and teaching about nutrition and food. Field work will involve visits to local educational institutions. Tu, Th 10:30AM – 11:45AM 
  • Environmental Ethics (ENV-0286-01/UEP-0286/PHIL-0191-06)
     Explores the values, rights, responsibilities and status of entities underlying alternative constructions of environmental issues. Subjects include: anthropocentric vs. biocentric approaches to natural resource protection, precautionary principle, ethics of cost-benefit analysis, equity and risk management, status of “rights” of non-human species and future generations, ethics of sustainable development and energy use, genetically modified crops, transgenic animals, deep ecology, and economic and non-economic value of wilderness and sacred lands. We 1:30PM – 4:00PM 
  • Physiological Psychology (PSY-0025)
     The biological basis of behavior. Basic functioning of the nervous system; physiological basis of hunger, thirst, sex, aggression, sleep, sensory and motor systems, learning and memory. Lectures and demonstrations. Students cannot receive credit for both PSY 25 and PSY 103. Biopsychology majors, who completed PSY 25 before declaring the major, should speak with an advisor about substituting PSY 104 for the PSY 103 major requirement. Mo 6:30PM – 9:00PM 
  • Brain and Behavior (PSY-0103)
     Advanced course on the relation between behavior and the structure and function of the nervous system. Lectures and demonstrations. Students cannot receive credit for both PSY 25 and PSY 103. Biopsychology majors, who completed PSY 25 before declaring the major, should speak with an advisor about substituting PSY 104 for the PSY 103 major requirement. Pre-Req: BIO 13 and 14; Recommendations: Biopsychology major, CHEM 1. Tu, Th 12:00PM – 1:15PM 

At the School of the Museum of Fine Arts:

  • Object Design: Form to Function (MTL-0089)
     3D printing has become a valuable tool for prototyping three-dimensional objects and for the quick study of form and function. While it can be fairly simple to develop a working design model, students often struggle with how to move from 3D print to finished object. In this course, students will focus on making unique objects designed for the table such as dining utensils, serving tools, candle holders, cups and saucers, as well the creation of undiscovered and newfound table necessities. By studying the history and traditions of food preparation, dining, customs of etiquette, and eating as a social and cultural experience, the design process will begin with hand drawn sketches and form studies made in 3D modeling software. After completing the prototype, students will learn methods for producing their object in its desired finished state. It will be possible to work with commercial casting companies and powder-coaters, as well as various studios and shops at SMFA to make these tabletop pieces. The course will culminate in a final critique and potluck meal where we will invite several guests to actually use and analyze the objects that are created. Th 9:00AM – 5:00PM 230 Fenway: A111 (Sm Metals) 

From the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy:

  • Principles of Nutrition Science (NUTR-0202)
     This course presents the fundamental scientific principles of human nutrition. Students will become familiar with food sources; recommended intake levels; biochemical role; mode of absorption, transport, excretion; deficiency/toxicity symptoms, and potential major public health problems for each macro- and micronutrient. The student goals for this course are: 1) to describe the components of a healthy diet, 2) understand the major nutrition problems that affect individuals and populations from conception and throughout the life cycle, and 3) understand the scientific basis for nutritional recommendations brought before the scientific and lay communities. Prerequisites: Students are required to have taken a one semester college-level course in either human biology, chemistry, or physiology (preferred). Tu, Fr 1:30PM – 3:00PM. Online 
  • Fundamentals of Nutrition Policy and Programming: How Science and Practice Interact (NUTR-0203)
     NUTR 203 is a course that will allow students at the Friedman School to become familiar with policy processes (domestic and international), typologies of policy initiatives (laws, regulations, program interventions, legal restrictions and systems, institutional mandates), and to be able to critically analyze and discuss how policy and science interact with regard to food and nutrition. The class will cover: a) how science influences the policy agenda, and how policy debates influence the scientific agenda; b) the scientific underpinnings of food and nutrition policies; c) how empirical findings in scientific research and operational programming make their way into policy and law; d) debates and controversies in US and international nutrition; e) the range of options for intervention that exist (to improve nutrition), and those that are used; f) how do we know what works best and what the alternatives might be?; g) approaches to problem assessment and measurement; h) success stories in the nutrition pantheon; i) constraints to success (what makes or breaks major program successes), and j) key institutions and organizations involved in nutrition policy and programming in the US and around the world. Prerequisites: Graduate standing or instructor consent. Th 1:30PM – 4:30PM. Boston 
  • Fundamentals of U.S. Agriculture (NUTR-0215/UEP-0223)
     This course covers the major social, institutional and human aspects of the American agricultural system, both as it exists today as well as its historical development. After consideration of agricultural systems in general and of the values that underlie different concepts of agriculture, it covers some of the key historical forces that have made American agriculture what it is today, and the major role of the federal government, both past and present. The next part of the course deals with the economics of American agriculture as a whole and its large-scale structure, followed by an analysis of farming on the microlevel, emphasizing types of farms and farm-scale production economics. Prerequisite: Graduate standing or instructor consent. We 9:00AM – 12:00PM. Jaharis Center, Room 118. Boston 
  • International Nutrition Programs (NUTR-0227)
     This course provides presentations, readings, and exercises relating to the broad range of nutrition interventions utilized in international programs: infant and young child nutrition, cash and food-based programs, agricultural-based interventions, micronutrient prevention and control activities, prevention and treatment of acute malnutrition, and water, sanitation and hygiene activities. The course also covers malnutrition causality, nutrition architecture, and an overview of global nutrition platforms. Students become well versed in program design and appraisal techniques including dynamic models and program constraint assessments, and are responsible for major exercises relating to existing programs in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Pre-requisite: Graduate standing or instructor consent. We 3:15PM – 6:15PM. Jaharis Center, Room 156. Boston