Tastemakers: Food and Drink in Greece and Rome

Catalog description

Where does culture come from? At its root is the word colere, "to tend the land for food." In antiquity, as today, cultivating and consuming food informed every aspect of life, with weddings, funerals, festivals, religious rites, romance, and politics all revolving around the table. In this course, we study the distinct yet overlapping dining cultures of antiquity through archaeological and literary remnants. We will observe how all walks of life collided in dining spaces, including adults and children, emperors and enslaved people, locals and migrants, and animals to eat and adore. We will consider not just the food they ate, but the images they saw on floors and vessels, the utensils they used, the art they performed, the games they played, the music and poetry they enjoyed, and the philosophy they discussed. In doing so, we will thoroughly consider how matters of taste are entangled with notions of identity, ethnicity, ethics, and individuality. All readings are in translation.