Language of Food in Italian Culture

Catalog description

"Dimmi ciò che mangi e ti dirò chi sei… Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are." Perhaps more than any other modern nation, Italy is defined by and celebrated for its food. Exports such as vino, pizza, and gelato, so quintessentially Italian, are now readily available across the globe. But what does food mean to Italians, and how does it reflect, magnify, and shape their collective identity? In this course, students will explore references to food and gastronomy in Italian literature, television, cinema, and art. We will investigate how Italians past and present have used food to talk about mechanisms of social belonging, disparity, and alienation. Beginning with today’s celebrity chefs and moving back to Dante and the origins of Italian literature, we will learn about the historical forces that influenced Italy’s evolving culinary traditions while honing our Italian language skills.