French 230ga - Colloquium in French Studies-From Royal Feasts to Family Dinners: France in the Mirror of Its Gastronomy

What did nobles and peasants eat in the age of the Sun King? When did restaurants become fashionable in France and why do family dinners last so long? What’s the meaning of "terroir" and what are today’s trendy foods? Through a wide array of literary texts, documents, essays, and films, students in this course explore some of the most interesting aspects of how French eating rituals developed from medieval time to the present. (E)