Introductory description

The topic of food interacts profoundly with the three disciplines we study in PPE. Is eating animals ethical? What role do national governments play in protecting 'authentic' food? Who benefits from 'fair trade' labels? Often, we cannot answer important questions pertaining to food by only considering one discipline, either. For instance, the question of dairy substitutes raises political, economic, and philosophical questions such as: what can be defined as milk and how are substitute products regulated? What shapes consumers' preferences in buying dairy replacements - and should they?

This module introduces students to questions spanning the disciplines of philosophy, politics, and economics, and provides insight into how these disciplines can help illuminate the topic of food. It will also encourage students to bridge their knowledge in the three disciplines to arrive at an interdisciplinary perspective.

This module has been designed in co-creation with a group of eight PPE students, which we hope makes for an even more exciting module.

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

The module will discuss the issue of food in various settings, from the global food regime to your plate.

The first week of the module will introduce the main aspects of the module, such as the topics and assessments. The final lecture of the module will take place as a module conference, in which students are encouraged to present their preliminary research project and receive valuable feedback on their plans.

Indicative weekly schedule. Please note that this may change.
Week 1: Introduction
Week 2: The global food system: a fair trade?
Week 3: Inequality and malnutrition: built into our global food system?
Week 4: It's not a small world: global versus local foods
Week 5: Meals as art
Week 7: Food and the body
Week 8: Authentic foods between the nation state and global markets
Week 9: Demystifying veganism
Week 10: Module conference

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• 1. Demonstrate and apply an understanding of interdisciplinary research in PPE
• 2. Apply critical thinking and reasoning skills such as making inferences and assessing limitations of knowledge claims
• 3. Represent and critically respond to multiple points of view through effective persuasive writing
• 4. Explain and assess core concepts and ideas in the PPE study of food
• 5. Demonstrate data literacy applied to the PPE research of food

Indicative reading list

The reading list for this module will be published closer to the module's first lecture.

Some books which indicate core themes of the module are:
Alkon, A. & Agyeman, J. (eds) 2011. Cultivating food justice: race, class, and sustainability. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
Clapp, J. 2012. Food. Cambridge: Polity.
Hansen, H. 2013. Food Economics. Abingdon: Routledge.Kaplan, D. 2012. The Philosophy of Food. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Research element

One of the assessments is a student research paper and we are considering the publication of the best research papers.

Interdisciplinary

This is an interdisciplinary module that explores issues at the intersection of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.

Subject specific skills

• Knowledge and understanding of how the three disciplines relate
• Application of PPE to real world problems
• Data Literacy
• Normative Analysis
• Policy Analysis
• Critical Thinking

Transferable skills

• Critical Thinking
• Information Literacy
• Sustainability
• Communication
• Problem Solving
• Ethical Values