The Sociology of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

Catalog description

The purpose of this course is to think sociologically about commercial hangouts. We will focus our attention on sites of public food and beverage consumption, including diners, drive-ins and dives, as well as coffee shops, ice cream parlors, food trucks, breweries, wine bars, fine-dining, food courts, dining halls and fast-food restaurants. Students will be assigned diverse readings on public life and undertake a series of field studies of commercial hangouts in their area. A major theme running through the readings and participatory assignments will be social process, collective action and symbolic interaction. The one-week, asynchronous online course culminates in a final paper synthesizing the readings and students' first-hand observations.