Agriculture, Food, and Society

Abstract

This course is designed to introduce students to the sociology of food and agriculture in the U.S. We will consider the dominant trends in U.S. agriculture; some of the emerging alternatives, politics, and responses to these trends; and the social, economic, and health impacts of different types of agrifood practices.

The central question we...

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Details

Subject Area(s):

Environmental Sociology

Resource Type(s):

Syllabus

Class Level(s):

College 400

Class Size(s):

Small

Learning Goals and Assessments

Learning Goal(s):

1. Describe major trends in U.S. agriculture from a sociological perspective
2. Evaluate the ability of alternative agrifood movements (such as organic agriculture and the local food movement) to challenge major trends in U.S. agriculture
3. Identify and evaluate the community impacts of different types of agrifood practices

Goal Assessment(s):

1. Weekly written reflections over the readings help students to more deeply engage with the material and draw richer understandings.
2. Mini-project activities push students to develop hands-on experiences with various aspects of the food system.
3. The commodity analysis assignment allows students to consider various dimensions of our food supply as well as how easy or difficult accessing information is about that food supply.