Critical Social Inquiry 0162 - Bodies, Guts, & Bones

Today in American society we are inundated with questions regarding diet, wellness and longevity. Often used phrases such as low-fat, high fiber, no carbs, gluten-free, sugar-free, calcium-rich, anorexia, obesity, bone density, and supersize me, all offering complex messages to the public about health. At the core of this course is the interface between nutrition and the role of popular culture. Students will work on independent projects that test popular notions about diet and nutrition using a broad range of methodologies (such as, 24-hour dietary recall, diet surveys, food ethnographies, anthropometry and exercise physiology). Students will design and carry out an original project on some aspect of food, nutrition and culture. Topics in human diet and nutrition will be examined from a biocultural perspective and will include an examination of the evolution of human nutrition and gut alongside current information on things such as growth and development, nutrition and disease processes, diet and culture, anthropology, and genetics.

Mind, Brain, and Information Physical and Biological Sciences Culture, Humanities, and Languages Writing and Research Multiple Cultural Perspectives Independent Work Quantitative Skills