Course Info: NS-0233

CourseNS-0233 Nutritional Anthropology
Long TitleNutritional Anthropology
Term2018F
Note(s) Textbook information
Meeting InfoCole Science Center 316 on M,W from 1:00-2:20
FacultyAlan Goodman
Capacity25
Available14
Waitlist0
Distribution(s)
Cumulative Skill(s)Independent Work
Quantitative Skills
Additional InfoIn this course students are generally expected to spend at least 6 to 8 hours a week of preparation and work outside of class time.
Description

Are we what we eat? We eat foods for social and cultural reasons, and we eat foods because they contain nutrients that fuel our cells and allow us to function -- grow, think, and live. The quest for food is a major evolutionary theme and continues to profoundly shape ecological, social, and human biological systems. In this course we considered some of the many ways that food and nutrition are related to the human condition, for example: (1) symbolic meanings of food, (2) the evolution of food systems to genetically modified foods, (3) the deadly synergy of malnutrition and infection, (4) the ecological and political-economic causes of undernutrition and obesity, and (5) "nutritional epidemiology" and the role of diet and nutrition in the etiology of diverse diseases. Throughout the course, we focused on "doing nutritional anthropology," including assessing the dietary and nutritional status of individuals in our community.