GENED 1178 - Mexico and the Making of Global Cuisine

Jennifer Carballo

T/Th 12:00 PM - 1:15 PM

What does the food we eat tell us about ourselves—as individuals, communities, and countries—and how has humanity’s relationship with food changed over time?

We all need to eat and drink each day to nourish our bodies. Yet how often do you pause to think deeply about why you eat what you eat? Your food habits are likely influenced by family traditions, but also by a range of other factors like income, age, ethnicity, religion, politics, and the environment. What does the food we eat tell us about ourselves—as individuals, communities, and countries—and how has humanity’s relationship with food changed over time? This course focuses on Mexico and its diversity of food, drink, and cultures across time and space to explore these questions. You will examine evidence from archaeology, anthropology, climatology, botany, genetics, history, and more, to investigate how, when, where, and why various changes in Mexican cuisine took place. The origins of menu items like tacos, burritos, guacamole, and margaritas reveal critical changes in global foodways—not just in Mexico—that continue to shape our everyday lives and the world as we know it today. You will leave this course with a better understanding of where your own food comes from, and how you have been impacted by changes in food and food culture, both in the distant past and more recently.

Class Notes:

This course has an enrollment cap and is a part of the coordinated, ranked-choice Gen Ed lottery. To participate in the lottery, you must request permission to enroll and rank your choices through my.harvard by 11:59 p.m. EST Tuesday, January 17, 2023. The Gen Ed lottery will run Wednesday, January 18; if you are successful in the lottery, your course petition in your Crimson Cart will turn to a green check that allows you to enroll. Please note that you *may* participate in the Gen Ed lottery even with advising or immunization holds! For timely updates on the Gen Ed lottery, please see https://gened.fas.harvard.edu/spring-2023.