First-Year Seminars 110FF - Small-Scale Agriculture

Small-scale agriculture fed the world until the middle of the 20th century, and the majority of the world's population farmed small plots in rural areas until the last decade. What role will family farms play in the world we are creating? We examine how small scale agriculture has changed over the past 200 years in East and West Africa, the Andes, China, India, and in the United States, and consider its future. Using recent and classic scholarship, autobiographies, memoirs, archives, and oral histories, we will develop skills in analysis, critical reading, and academic writing. We will visit local farms and interact with farmers on other continents using social media.