Empires, Power and the Modern World: Food as History

• • • Food production and consumption in colonial contexts.
  • • Famine and food sovereignty.
  • • Agrarian and industrial revolutions and their impact on diet.
  • • Food in wartime.
  • • The history of restaurants and eating out.
  • • Supermarkets and food marketing.
  • • Globalisation, fair trade and sustainable food futures.

Others

Past La Trobe University students who have previously completed HUS1FFT (Food for Thought: Discovering the World through Commodities) are ineligible to enrol in this subject.

Additional requirements

No additional requirements

The food you eat is not just a matter of taste. It is the product of histories of imperialism, global trade and commerce, and industrial and scientific revolutions; it tells a story of cultural change and exchange. In this subject, we study global histories of food from the age of empires to the modern world. We will trace commodity chains for products such as chocolate and tea from agricultural production, through industrial manufacture, to retail, marketing and consumption. Along the way we will explore topics including slavery, Indigenous and ethnic food encounters, kitchens and modernity, adulterated food, and wartime food supplies. Through investigating political, legal, economic and cultural histories of food in global and local contexts, you will discover and debate key concepts including gender, class, race and power. You will bring historical understanding to the urgent question of food sustainability.

• Primary source analysis and bibliography (equivalent to 600 words). (15%)
• An individual project on the theme of sustainable food (equivalent to 1600 words) (40%)
• Research essay (equivalent to 1800 words) (45%)

For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).