Courses

NOTE: This site is an archive of 2010–2011 programs and policies at Boston University Metropolitan College. If you are looking for current information about Metropolitan College and its programs, please go to our official website: met.

• MET ML 632: History of Wine
  Understanding wine is impossible without knowing its rich and varied history. This course provides a survey of significant developments in the production, distribution, consumption and cultural uses of grape-based alcoholic beverages in the West. Topics include the role wine has played in the economy and culture of civilizations from the ancient Near East all the way through to its global impact in the 21st Century. We will focus in particular on wine as a religious symbol and a consumer beverage in the modern world.
• MET ML 633: Readings in Food History
  A comparative perspective on issues of human subsistence through time. Changing patterns of nutrition and health, agricultural production, methods of coping with famine and organizing feasts, and origins and impact of culinary and dietary innovations.
• MET ML 641: Anthropology of Food
  What can food tell us about human culture and social organization? Food offers us many opportunities to explore the ways in which humans go about their daily lives from breaking bread at the family table, haggling over the price of meat at the market to worrying about having enough to eat. Food can also tell us about larger social organizations and global interconnections through products like Spam that are traded around the globe and the ways in which a fruit like the tomato transformed the culinary culture of European nations. In this course we will consider how the Anthropology of Food has developed as a subfield of Cultural Anthropology. We will also look at the various methodologies and theoretical frameworks used by anthropologists to study food and culture. 4 cr.
• MET ML 643: Special Topic: Food, Culture and Exchange - The Economic Anthropology of Food
  Economic exchanges are influenced by culture. This is particularly true when it comes to exchanges that have to do with food. This course explores the cultural aspects of economics and food, serving as a lens through which to view the complex human relations and exchanges known as economics. Discussion of topics such as gift exchange, bartering and the question of the commons, as well as the economics of local food, reconnecting consumers with their food supply, urban foraging and alternate economic activities related to food production and consumption. Using an anthropological framework to understand the cultural aspects of exchange, the course will cover the economic and cultural underpinnings of food systems throughout the world. 4 credits
• MET ML 651: Fundamentals of Wine
  For students without previous knowledge of wine, this introductory survey explores the world of wine through lectures, tastings, and assigned readings. By the end of this course, students will be able to 1). Exhibit fundamental knowledge of the principal categories of wine, including major grape varieties, wine styles, and regions; 2). Correctly taste and classify wine attributes; 3). Understand general principles of food and wine pairing; and 4). Comprehend the process of grape growing and winemaking. Open only to matriculated gastronomy students.
• MET ML 652: A Comprehensive Survey of Wine, Spirits and Beer
  Students passing this course will attain proficiency in the field of wine and associated alcoholic beverages. This intensive survey covers each of the world?s most important geographical areas and includes comprehensive comparative tastings. The final examination includes a tasting as well as a written component.
• MET ML 653: Mastering Wine: Skill Development
  Provides students with mastery of the field of alcoholic beverages. The curriculum is divided into the following sections: viticulture, vinification, distillation and brewing; wine tasting, including blind tasting; the interaction of wine and food; and the business of wine. Examination covers tasting skills, factual information and essay writing. 4 credits, Wed. 6-9. FUL Room 122.
• MET ML 654: The Wine Trade: Global, National and Local Perspectives
  Gives students an in-depth understanding of issues confronting national wine industries and how these issues relate to the U.S. and local wine trade. Students develop understanding and professional skills by researching assigned topics, participating in teacher-led discussions, and tasting numerous wines under the guidance of instructors. Specialists in the wine trade visit to contribute their expertise and provide an interface to the trade. Students share independent research with classmates by giving presentations and researching relevant topics which highlight issues currently facing the wine industry. The format of this course requires students to do independent research, which may be presented in class and/or submitted in the form of an essay.
• MET ML 671: Food and the Visual Arts
  An extensive historical exploration into prints, drawings, film, television, and photography relating to food in the United States and elsewhere. Examines how food images represent aesthetic concerns, social habits, demographics, domestic relations, and historical trends.
• MET ML 672: Special Topics: Art and Food
  Focusing on the dialogue between gastronomy and art, from antiquity to the present, this seminar offers students the opportunity to research the work of artists who represented food, drink, harvest and hunger, the role of the decorative arts in dining and the relationship of national traditions of art and cuisine. Students test the validity of analogies that scholars have drawn between developments in the two areas of endeavor. Uncharted areas of affinity linking art and cuisine are explored. Providing an introduction to fundamental aspects of the art historical periods in question, the course is designed to accommodate students without previous formal study of art history. Those with prior experience in the discipline will be given new purchase on the art.
• MET ML 681: Food Writing for Print Media
  Students will develop and improve food-writing skills through the study of journalistic ethics; advertising; scientific and technological matters; recipe writing; food criticism; anthropological and historical writing about food; food in fiction, magazines and newspapers. 4 cr
• MET ML 691: Nutrition and Diet
  An introduction to nutrition with special emphasis on carbohydrates, fibers, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals; course discusses the relationship between these nutrients and health. Applied topics include menu design based on current dietary advice, nutrient content of unprocessed and processed foods, regulation of food intake, food safety, and nutrition legislation.
• MET ML 692: Evaluating and Developing Markets for Cultural Tourism
  Cultural tourism in the 21st century is more than the traditional passive activities of visiting a museum, hearing a concert or strolling down an historic street. It has become an active, dynamic branch of tourism in which half of all tourists have stated that they want some cultural activities during their vacation. In this course we will introduce various themes of cultural tourism including the relationship between the Tourist Industry and the Cultural Heritage Manager, conservation and preservation vs. utilization of a cultural asset, authenticity vs. commoditization, stakeholders and what should be their rights and obligations, tangible and intangible tourist assets, the role of government, private industry and the non-profit sectors in tourism planning and sustainable economic development. We will examine these themes in different areas of cultural tourism including the art industry, historical sites, cultural landmarks, special events and festivals, theme parks and gastronomy.
• MET ML 700: Culinary Arts Laboratory
  This semester long Culinary Arts Laboratory exposes students to professional chefs and teachers in the world of cooking and trains students in the basic classical and modern techniques of theories of food production, and introduces students to professionals in the food world as well as to other cultures in the world of gastronomy.
• MET ML 701: Understanding Food: Theory and Methodology
  This course is designed to introduce students to current and foundational issues in food studies and gastronomy. Through this focus on central topics, students will engage directly in the interdisciplinary method that is central to food studies. Each week will introduce a unique view of the holistic approach that is central to a liberal arts approach to studying food and a new research technique will be presented and put into practice through the readings and course exercises. This course will give Gastronomy students a better understanding of the field as a whole. While providing an overview and methodological toolbox, it will act as a springboard in to areas of specialization of the course. 4 cr.
• MET ML 702: Special Topic: Concepts in Economics and Political Dimensions of Food Production
  Course covers basic concepts in economic and political dimensions of food production, consumption and trade, with emphasis on the global food system.Topics include market and consumption analysis, types of food policy instruments and how these affect consumer food choices, environment, diet, nutrition and health.
• MET ML 704: Special Topic: Cookbooks and History
  Seminar on the use of cookbooks and recipes as historical documents unique to food history. Cookbooks and recipes will be examined from a variety of perspectives: cultural, culinary, social, economic, agricultural, geographical, and comparative.
• MET ML 705: Artisan Cheeses of the World
  An in-depth exploration of the styles and production of cheeses from regions around the world, from their beginnings on the farm to the finished products at the table. 2 cr
• MET ML 706: Representations of Food and Gender in the Media
  This course examines the relationship between food and gender (and gender roles) through an interdisciplinary examination of representations of food in visual culture. It looks at films and TV programs as well as other forms of visual culture (i.e. magazines, cookbooks, advertisements, photography, web pages, etc.). The investigation of these materials is guided by two main objectives: 1) to examine how these visual texts depict the relationship between food and gender; and then, 2) to analyze how these meanings are produced. In class, we watch relevant films and TV programs as well as look at other forms of visual culture. Assigned readings are designed to illuminate both the topics discussed as well as the specific visual material examined. A good portion of class time is given to discussing the readings in combination with a hands-on, in-depth analysis of the visual material.
• MET ML 707: Directed Study
  Students may work with a full-time Boston University faculty member to complete a Directed Study project on a topic relevant to the program. Directed study may also take the form of an internship. This may be completed off campus. These projects must be arranged with and approved by Gastronomy program coordinator.

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