Courses

• 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
  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 Visual Culture
  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 673: A Survey of Food in Film
  We can all take pleasure in eating good food, but what about watching other people eat or cook food? This course will survey the history of food in film. It will pay particular attention to how food and foodways are depicted as expressions of culture, politics, and group or personal identity. We will watch a significant number of films, both fiction and non-fiction, classic and modern. A good portion of class time will also be given to discussing the readings in combination with hands-on, in-depth analysis of the films themselves.
• MET ML 681: Food Writing for the 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: Why What You Eat Matters
  This course is designed to introduce major concepts in nutrition and diet to students of food studies and other disciplines who have limited or no background in the biological sciences. The overarching goal is to develop a working understanding of the basic science of nutrition and apply this knowledge to personal health and professional settings. The course begins with the fundamentals of nutrition and diet, focusing on macro- and micronutrient intakes and needs throughout the life course. Food-based nutrition will also be discussed, alongside dietary guidelines, recommendations, and food labels. Moving from the individual level to the larger public health arena, we will also examine such topics as nutritional ecology, influences on dietary intakes, overnutrition, and undernutrition. A running theme throughout will be critiquing how diet and nutrition are treated in the media and press.
• 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 698: Laboratory in the Culinary Arts: Cooking
  Exposes students to a craft-based understanding of the culinary arts from which to better understand how food and cuisine fit into the liberal arts and other disciplines and cultures. The course integrates personal experience and theory through discipline by training students in the classic and modern techniques and theories of food production, through cooking and working efficiently, effectively, and safely, and by introducing students to foods of various cultures and cuisines from around the world. Open only to matriculated gastronomy students. Cannot be taken in addition to ML 700. 4 cr
• MET ML 699: Laboratory in the Culinary Arts: Baking
  Exposes students to a craft-based understanding of the culinary arts from which to better understand how food and cuisine fit into the liberal arts and other disciplines and cultures. The course integrates personal experience and theory through discipline by training students in the classic and modern techniques and theories of food production, through pastry and baking methods as well as working efficiently, effectively, and safely, and by introducing students to baking techniques from various cultures and cuisines from around the world. Open only to matriculated gastronomy students. Cannot be taken in addition to ML 700.
• MET ML 700: Culinary Arts Laboratory
  The Laboratory in the Culinary Arts for Spring 2012, is an 8 credit course that meets Mondays through Thursdays, 10:30 until 6 pm, depending on evaluating your work and cleanup time. Morning class is usually a lecture, a food demonstration or a field trip. The afternoon session, which begins at 1 pm, sharp, is hands-on cooking. You will learn the cooking skills and techniques of France, the Americas, and Italy, as well as other ethnic techniques of food preparation. Tuition is $6,080 plus a $4,000 lab fee.
  
  The following persons have been the instructors for fall 2011 and most of them will be teaching in winter/spring 2012. The core instructors, are comprised of those who teach more than 5 meeting times during the semester are: John Vyhnanek, author, past owner of Harvard Street Grill, past executive chef at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, Boston, restaurant consultant; Jean Jacques Paimblanc, past executive chef Legal Sea Foods, Pavilion, Howard Johnsons, Panera Bread, Signature Breads; Janine Sciarappa, pastry chef; Jamie Bissonnette, chef/co-owner Toro, Coppa, past executive chef Eastern Standard; Chris Douglass, owner/chef Ashmont Grill, Tavolo, past owner Icarus; Jeremy Sewall, executive chef/co-owner Eastern Standard, Island Creek Oyster Bar and Grill, Lineage; Michael Leviton, executive chef/owner Lumiere, Area Four. The following instructors will have taught this semester either one or more times: Deborah Hansen, Taberna de Hara; Ihsan Gurdal, Formaggio Kitchen; Warren Belasco, on meat; Sam Huang, Super Fusion; Ellen Messer, on sugar; Sandy Block; Master of Wine; Jim Dodge, world famous baker; Nina Simonds, Chinese culture and Cuisine; Walter Willett, nutritionist; Max Harvey, Jasper White's Summer Shack; Bess Emanuel, food consultant; Fabrizia Lanza, consultant and owner Anna Tasca Lanza Culinary School, Sicily; Nina Gallant, food photographer; Jeff Fournier, executive chef 51 Lincoln; Bill Nesto, Master of Wine; Judith Jones, food editor and cookbook author; Irene Costello and Joan Mac Isaac, food product producers; Raymond Ost, chef/owner Sandrine's Restaurant; Joseph Polak, Rabbi and expert on Kosher foods, Boston University Hillel; Patrick Dubsky, owner Winestone and former sommelier; Charles Grandon, former executive chef, Boston Harbor Hotel, Boston University catering, Pillar House, presently executive chef Winchester Country Club; Claudia Roden, world expert on foods of the Mediterranean countries; Jean --Claude Szurdak on French pastries; Sheryl Julian, food editor of the Boston Globe; Joseph Carlin, food historian; Priscilla Martel, baker; Mary Ann Esposito, expert on foods of Italy, Leo Romero, expert on culture and cuisine of Mexico, owner/chef Casa Romero; Jackson Cannon, mixologist and sommelier; Ana Sortun, executive chef/owner Oleana Restaurant and expert on food of Turkey; Garrett Harker, owner Eastern Standard and Island Creek Oyster Bar and Grill; Sam Mendlinger, on agriculture in Africa and sustainability. Unfortunately Jacques Pepin could not make it teaching this semester because of illness but he has not missed a semester teaching in over 21 years.
  
  There is no other course of this kind offered anywhere. It is a perfect fit to the interdisciplinary approach to food studies in the Gastronomy Program. Only 12 students are admitted into this course each semester. Lisa Falso is the exclusive student and kitchen supervisor for this particular program. She will be instructing you along with the visiting chefs as well as being in charge of the overall curriculum.
• MET ML 701: Introduction to Gastronomy: 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 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: Food and Gender
  This course takes an anthropological, cross-cultural, and interdisciplinary approach to food and gender, looking at how masculinity and femininity are defined through beliefs and practices surrounding food and body. It explores theories of gender and methods for studying it and engages students in ethnographic research on gender and food.
• 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. These projects must be arranged with and approved by Gastronomy program coordinator.
• MET ML 708: Directed Study
  Prereq: consent of coordinator.

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