food and drink - syllabus

7/27/2019 Food and Drink - Syllabus

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CLASS MEETINGS INSTRUCTOR

MWF 11-11.50am Sarah Craft

Rhode Island Hall 108 Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology &

http://proteus.brown.edu/fooddrink2011 the Ancient World

Rhode Island Hall 210

[email protected]

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Eating is not, and never has been, a merely biological activity.

-Paul Fieldhouse,Food and Nutrition: Customs and Culture (1986)

We may all be what we eat, but we are also with whom we eat, where, when, why (or not),and how we eat. In this class, we will consider the implications for patterns of food produc-

tion, preparation, consumption, availability, and taboos, examining issues like gender,

health, wealth, geographic variability, and politics within the historic and geographic con-

text of the ancient Mediterranean throughout the entirety of pre-modern period. Literary,

art historical, anthropological and archaeological approaches and evidence will be explored

in our pursuit of connections between food, drink, and daily life in the ancient Mediterra-

nean world. Covering topics ranging from ancient Greek drinking games to food as medi-

cine to the influence of Arab cuisine on the medieval Mediterranean, from sacrificing to the

gods of the Roman pantheon to the process of wine-making to modern-day American feast-

ing practices, we will learn about the role of food and drink in ancient Mediterranean soci-

ety, considering critically what repercussions that has for how we think about how even to-day, we are what we eat.

FOOD AND DRINKIN THEANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN

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mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://proteus.brown.edu/fooddrink2011mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://proteus.brown.edu/fooddrink2011http://proteus.brown.edu/fooddrink2011


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GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

identify patterns of food production and consumption in the Mediterranean;

contrast patterns of food production and consumption across time and space in the

Mediterranean;

synthesize different approaches and evidence to understand the implications of food and

drink in the ancient Mediterranean;

interpret those synthesized data sets for a clear, well-articulated understanding of the im-

portance of food in both the ancient and modern world as more than a biological neces-

sity, but as an historically, culturally, and geographically contingent construction.

REQUIRED TEXTS

Beer, Michael. 2010. Taste or Taboo: Dietary Choices in Antiquity. Devon, England: Prospect

Books.

Flandrin, Jean-Louis and Massimo Montanari, eds. 1999.Food: A Culinary History from

Antiquity to the Present. New York: Columbia University Press.

Garnsey, Peter. 1999.Food and Society in Classical Antiquity. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press. (available as an e-book through Josiah)

Wilkins, John M. and Shaun Hill. 2006.Food in the Ancient World. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

(available as an e-book through Josiah)

food and drink in the ancient world

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CLASS FORMAT AND RESOURCES

Class meetings will revolve around lectures on the themes presented day-by-day in

the syllabus. However, you are encouraged to ask questions and give comments if

you have something relevant to say regarding the information! The reading re-sponses will also provide a venue for you to voice your comments and questions; I

will address these responses during the lecture. Powerpoints, images, and other

supplementary material and resources such as the class bibliography will be posted

to the wiki for your reference.

ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING

Assignment % Due Date

Reading responses 20% 9am on the day of class

Participation 5% throughout

Culinary polygon 5% 19 September 9am

Midterm exam 15% 15 October

First draft (4+ pages) 10% 5 November midnight

Summary form of first draft 5% 5 November midnight

Second draft (7-10 pages) 10% 19 November midnight

Summary form of second draft 5% 19 November midnight

Final paper (7-10 pages) 10% 7 December midnight

Final exam 15% TBA

_____________________________________________

Total 100%


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Reading Responses (20%)

Unless specified in the course schedule, reading responses should follow

the format of addressing three questions:

What was the main point of this reading?

Did anything surprise you? Why?

Did anything confuse you? Why?

These are intended to encourage you to really engage with the readings and under-

stand them; and if they make you realize that you dont/didnt understand them,

then to grapple with why. These are completion grades, but whether or not they are

reflective will be taken into account (for example, Nothing surprised or confused

me about this reading doesnt cut it). They are due by 9am on the day of class, as

entries posted to the wiki, so that I can go through them and address issues that

come up during class. You are encouraged to review your peers responses to con-

sider whether they are struggling with the same issues as you are.

Culinary polygon (5%)

good to think with: create your own culinary polygon

Lvi-Strausss culinary triangle is a short, dense, and influential text. In or-der to really engage with the text and its ideas, create your own culinary

polygon based on your own diets, choices, and implications.) These can fol-

low the paradigm of Lvi-Strausss text or you can follow a more creative

direction if you feel so inspired. Due September 19 at 9am, either posted

as pdfs/docs to the wiki or turned in as hardcopies to my mailbox.

Midterm exam (15%)

This exam is intended to gauge your level of engagement and understanding

of the material covered in class and readings through Fall Break (Oct 8).

Identification of terms, short answers, and two short essays.

First draft (10%)

This first draft of your paper is intended to get you really thinking about

your paper thesis, sources, and evidence. Due by midnight on Monday, No-vember 5.


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First draft summary report (5%)This form is comprised of your responses to a series of questions regarding

your draft and is intended to make sure you are considering all the relevant

elements of your paper right from the beginning. In the following diagram,

address the eight issues identified in the wheel. Due by midnight on Mon-day, November 5.

Second draft (10%)

The second draft should be a full one of your paper, taking into account the feed-

back from your first draft and summary report. Due by midnight on Monday, No-

vember 19.

Second draft summary report (5%)

The summary report for the second draft consists of your responses to a series of

questions addressing your inferences and interpretations.

What conclusions am I coming to?

Is my inference logical?

Are there other conclusions I should consider?

Does this interpretation make sense? Does our solution necessarily follow from our data?

How did I reach that conclusion?

What am I basing my reasoning on?

Is there an alternative plausible conclusion?

Given all the facts what is the best possible conclusion?

Due by midnight on Monday, November 19. [reference material from The Thinkers

Guide to Analytic Thinking(2007)]

Final Paper (10%)

The final paper should be a clear, well-conceived and well-articulated research pa-

per founded on the two drafts. It will be evaluated according to the following ru-

bric, which relies on the assumption that after working through the interim as-

signments described above, there is a clear thesis statement that will already be


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worked out by the time the student gets to the final draft stage. Due by midnighton Friday, December 7.

Final exam (15%)

This exam is intended to gauge your level of engagement and understanding

of the material covered in class and readings over the entirety of the semes-

ter, though with a focus on the material covered since the midterm exam.

The exam will consist of identification of terms, short answers, and two

short essays.


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COURSE SCHEDULE(ANNOTATION IN PARENTHESES)

WEEK1:INTRODUCTION TO THEANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN

WEDNESDAY,SEPTEMBER5FOOD ASFORUM

(Introduction to the course. What can we learn about the ancient worldfrom the study of its inhabitants patterns and techniques of production,diet, eating habits, and regional variability? Go through the syllabus,assignments, and take questions.)

Class activity: entry survey(Gathering information from students; short questionnaire to identify whatthey hope to gain from this course.)

FRIDAY,SEPTEMBER7

WHAT AND WHEN IS THE ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN?

(This class will be an introduction to how I envision the ancient Medi-

terranean, both chronologically and geographically, in terms of a

foundation for the class. This will give students an opportunity to put

forward some of their own ideas about what should be included, andnot. Lecture and discussion will revolve around powerpoint slides of

maps, timelines, and relevant monuments and people.)

Readings

Choose either(though both are recommended):Snodgrass, Greek Archaeology (13-29) OR

Millett, Roman Archaeology, in Part 1, What is Classical Archaeology? in Classi-cal Archaeology, ed. Susan E. Alcock and Robin Osborne. Blackwell STudies inGlobal Archaeology. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2007.

Class activity: whats missing from the mediterranean?

(Based on the readings that they did, students will identify what a classical-

archaeology-centered approach leaves out of the Mediterranean, as if Greece and

Rome were isolated from the rest of the sea and its peoples; what impact that has

on their own identities (for example, Othering through food accusations) and how


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we study them (for example, Egyptian grain production and the annona, or graindole, in ancient Rome).)

WEEK2:INTRODUCTION (PART II)

MONDAY,SEPTEMBER10

WHO STUDIES EATING HABITS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS IN THE ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN, ANDHOW?

(This class will cover different approaches to food in the ancient world: text,

art history, anthropology, and archaeology. As all three contribute to an in-

formed knowledge of the ancient world, students will be asked to reflect on

what each approach can offer and how they can complement each other.)

Readings

Bober, Phyllis Pray. 1999. The Hellenic Experience, inArt, Culture and Cuisine:

Ancient and Medieval Gastronomy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 77-

122.

Lvi-Strauss, Claude. 2008. The Culinary Triangle, inFood and Culture: A Reader,

ed. C. Counihan and P. Van Esterik. New York: Routledge, 28-35.

Twiss, Katheryn C. 2007. We Are What We Eat, in The Archaeology of Food and

Identity, ed. Katheryn C. Twiss. Carbondale, Ill.: Center for ArchaeologicalInvestigations at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, 1-15.

Wilkins, John M. and Shaun Hill. 2006. Food in Literature, inFood in the Ancient

World. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 247-276.

activity: by 9am on the day of class, submit a short response outlining what you

think the main research questions and approaches of each discipline (Bober/art his-

tory; Twiss/archaeology; Lvi-Strauss/anthropology; Wilkins and Hill/literature) are.

How do you see these approaches complementing each other or not?

WEDNESDAY,SEPTEMBER12

OLD FOOD AND US: THE DELIGHTS AND DANGERS OF DRAWING PARALLELS

(With the chronological and geographical foundations of the ancient Mediterranean

in place, this class session is designed to get students to think explicitly and

critically about inferring similarities across regional and chronological boundaries,

with particular attention to our own time and places.)


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Readings

Barthes, Roland. 2008. Towards a psychosociology of contemporary food consumption, in

Food and Culture: A Reader, ed. C. Counihan and P. Van Esterik. New York: Routledge,

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Beer, Michael. 2010. Introduction, in Taste or Taboo: Dietary Choices in Antiquity. Devon,

England: Prospect Books, 7-16.

Fischler, Claude. 1999. The McDonaldization of culture, inFood: A Culinary History from

Antiquity to the Present, ed. Jean-Louis Flandrin and Massimo Montanari. New York:

Columbia University Press, 530-547.

FRIDAY,SEPTEMBER14

THEFOODFRAMEWORK

(This class will emphasize food as part of a larger system, hearkening back to the

Lvi-Strauss article read two sessions earlier and prompting them to continue

developing their culinary polygon, which is due in less than a week.)

Readings

Appadurai, Arjun. 2008. Building a National Cuisine: Cookbooks in Contemporary India,

inFood and Culture: A Reader, ed. C. Counihan and P. Van Esterik. New York:

Routledge.

Montanari, Massimo. 1999. Food systems and models of civilization, in Food: A Culinary

History from Antiquity to the Present, ed. Jean-Louis Flandrin and Massimo

Montanari. New York: Columbia University Press, 69-78.

Wilkes, John M. and Shaun Hill. 2006. The social context of eating, inFood in the Ancient


MONDAY,SEPTEMBER17BACK TO THEBEGINNINGS

(Up to this point in the class, weve defined some chronological boundaries butskipped around them emphasize thematic points. As we ease into talking about the

mechanics of food production and the ramifications for diet and society, this week

and its classes will preface classical antiquity with some discussion of the

development of food production in prehistory.)


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ReadingsFlandrin, Jean-Louis. 2008. The Humanization of Eating Behaviors, in Food: A Culinary



Giammellaro, Antonella Span. 2008. The Phoenicians and the Carthaginians: the Early

Mediterranean Diet, inFood: A Culinary History from Antiquity to the Present, ed.

Jean-Louis Flandrin and Massimo Montanari. New York: Columbia University Press,

55-65.

Perls, Catherine. 2008. Eating Strategies in Prehistoric Times, in Food: A Culinary



Twiss, Katheryn C. 2007. Home is Where the Hearth Is: Food and Identity in the Neolithic

Levant, in The Archaeology of Food and Identity, ed. K.C. Twiss. Carbondale, Ill.:

Center for Archaeological Investigations at Southern Illinois University

Carbondale, 50-68.

WEDNESDAY,SEPTEMBER19

THEMEDITERRANEANTRIAD:DIET ANDREGIONAL VARIABILITY

(While necessarily overlapping with the class before, this class will directly addressthe notion of the Mediterranean triad and its universal applicability; just as we

focused on drawing chronological parallels in the Sept 12 class, this will focus on

geographical variability, as well as getting into issues of availability and access for

the majority of the population, both rural and urban).

Readings

Beer, Michael. 2010. Diet in the Ancient World, in Taste or Taboo: Dietary Choices in

Antiquity. Devon, England: Prospect Books, 17-27.

Garnsey, Peter. 1999. Diet, inFood and Society in Classical Antiquity. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press, 13-21.

Wilkins, John M. and Shaun Hill. 2006. Staples: Cereals and Pulses and Meat

and Fish, inFood in the Ancient World. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 112-141.


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FRIDAY,SEPTEMBER21DIET AND VARIABILITY(PARTII)

(In this class, we will continue to examine the differences in diet across

geographical regions, including how they changed over time, especially with

the spread of empires.)

Readings

Amouretti, Claire. 2008. Urban and rural diets in Greece, inFood: A Culinary



Bresciani, Edda. 2008. Food Culture in Ancient Egypt, in Food: A Culinary



Corbier, Mireille. 2008. The Broad Bean and the Moray: Social Hierarchies and

Food in Rome, inFood: A Culinary History from Antiquity to the Present, ed.

Jean-Louis Flandrin and Massimo Montanari. New York: Columbia

University Press,128-140.

Sassatelli, Giuseppe. 2008. The Diet of the Etruscans, in Food: A Culinary

History from Antiquity to the Present, ed. Jean-Louis Flandrin and MassimoMontanari. New York: Columbia University Press, 106-112.

MONDAY,SEPTEMBER24

MECHANICS OFPRODUCTION

(With an understanding in hand ofwhatwas being eaten, we will take a step

back and examine how they went about producing and acquiring those

foods.)

ReadingsGarnsey, Peter. 1999. Food and the Economy, inFood and Society in Classical

Antiquity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 22-33.

Wilkes, John M. and Shaun Hill. 2006. An overview of food in antiquity, inFood in

the Ancient World. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 1-30.


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WEDNESDAY,SEPTEMBER26FOOD TECHNOLOGY

(After thinking about foods place in the economy, we will move on to think about

the structures, mechanics, and material that went into producing food [as opposed

to drink, which will be tackled in more detail in the two following meetings] before

it entered into the economy.)

Readings

Curtis, Robert I. 2001. Classical and Hellenistic Periods and Summary and

Conclusions to Part III inAncient Food Technology. Technology and Changein History Volume 5. Leiden & Boston: Brill, 275-322, 420-434.

FRIDAY,SEPTEMBER28

DRINKLIKE ANEGYPTIAN

(Building upon the previous weeks discussion of technology and production, this

class will look explicitly at the special place of beer in the ancient world, especially

in the places where it was most widely relied upon and where we have learned the

most about its production and symbolic value within ancient society. We will look

especially at the role of experimental archaeology in deducing how beer was made.)

Readings

HTTP://WWW2.MACLEANS.CA/2011/11/03/DRINK-LIKE-AN-EGYPTIAN/

Curtis, Robert I. 2001. Egypt I, inAncient Food Technology. Technology and Change

in History Volume 5. Leiden & Boston: Brill, 93-141.

Jennings, Justin, Kathleen L. Antrobus, Sam J. Atencio, Erin Glavich, Rebecca

Johnson, German Loffler, and Christine Luu. 2005. Drinking beer in ablissful mood: Alcohol production, operational chains, and feasting in the

ancient world, in Current Anthropology46.2: 275-303.


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http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/11/03/drink-like-an-egyptian/http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/11/03/drink-like-an-egyptian/http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/11/03/drink-like-an-egyptian/


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MONDAY,OCTOBER1BEERSSOPHISTICATED COUSIN:WINE

(Building upon the previous weeks discussion of technology and production, this

class will look explicitly at the special place of wine in the ancient world, especially

in the places where it was most widely relied upon and where we have learned the

most about its production and symbolic value within ancient society. We will look

especially at the role of experimental archaeology and comparison with modern

wine-producing technologies as ways to work back towards ancient practices.)

Readings

Beer, Michael. 2010. Restrictions upon alcohol, in Taste or Taboo: Dietary Choices in

Antiquity. Devon, England: Prospect Books, 84-100.

Curtis, Robert I. 2001. Wine inAncient Food Technology. Technology and Change

in History Volume 5. Leiden & Boston: Brill, 372-379.

Wilkes, John M. and Shaun Hill. 2006. Wine and Drinking, inFood in the Ancient


WEDNESDAY,OCTOBER3

FROMPRODUCTION TO CONSERVATION

(This class will emphasize that concerns about food in the ancient world were not

just about producing and acquiring it, but how to store it once it was actually ac-

quired - without the option of deep freezers or refrigerators! Issues of storage and

conservation will be looked at both at the individual household level as well as

larger estates and state administration.)

Readings

Grunbrt, Michael. Store in a cool and dry place: perishable goods and their

preservation in Byzantium, inEat, Drink, and Be Merry (Luke 12:19): Food and

Wine in Byzantium (In Honour of Professor A.A.M. Bryer), ed. Leslie Brubaker

and Kallirroe Linardou. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 39-50.


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Stathakopoulos, D. Between the field and the plate: how agricultural products wereprocessed into food, inEat, Drink, and Be Merry (Luke 12:19): Food and Wine

in Byzantium (In Honour of Professor A.A.M. Bryer), ed. Leslie Brubaker and

Kallirroe Linardou. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 27-38.

FRIDAY,OCTOBER5

FAMINE ANDFOODSUPPLY

(A large part of the fear surrounding food storage and conservation in the ancient

world was not just about seasonal preparation, but looking ahead to years of famineor food shortages of one kind or another. In addition to looking at strategies peo-

ple used for dealing with food shortages, we will explore issues of accessibility as

well as simple availability, focusing on the case study of Edessa and the detailed in-

formation we have about that crisis, and the in-depth studies that have been under-

taken about it.)

Readings

Galen. On the fruit from wild plants, from On the Properties of Foodstuffs, 97-98.

Garnsey, Peter. 1999. Food Crisis, inFood and Society in Classical Antiquity.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 34-42.

Garnsey, Peter. 1988. Supply and Distribution: Urban Communities, in Famine and

Food Supply in the Greco-Roman World: responses to risk and crisis. Cambridge:


MONDAY,OCTOBER8

NOCLASS-FALL BREAK


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WEDNESDAY,OCTOBER10PUTTINGFOOD ON THETABLE(AND TAKING IT OFF AGAIN):DININGHABITS

(In this class, we will examine the dining habits associated with pre-Roman Greek

culture, in a general sense, including physical set-up, status, and illustrative case

studies.)

Readings

Lissarague, Francois. 1987. Drinking Games, in The Aesthetics of the Greek Banquet.

Princeton: Princeton University Press, 68-86.

Scmitt-Pantel, Pauline. 2008. Greek Meals: A Civic Ritual, in Food: A Culinary



Vetta, Massimo. 2008. The Culture of the Symposium, inFood: A Culinary



FRIDAY,OCTOBER12

PUTTINGFOOD ON THETABLE(PARTII)

(In this class, we will examine the dining habits associated with Roman culture into

the late antique period, in a general sense, including physical set-up, status, and il-

lustrative case studies.)

Readings

Bradley, Keith. 2001. The Roman Family at Dinner, inMeals in a Social Context,ed.

Inge Nielsen and Hanne Nielsen. Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 36-55.

Dunbabin, Katherine. 2003. The Waiting Servant in Later Roman Art, in American

Journal of Philology124.3 (Special Issue: Roman Dining): 443-456.

Dupont, Florence. 2008. The Grammar of Roman Dining, in Food: A Culinary




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MONDAY,OCTOBER15

MID-TERMEXAM(COVERING MATERIAL UP TO FALL BREAK)

WEDNESDAY,OCTOBER17

EATINGAWAYFROM THETABLE:STREETFOOD

(We will examine dining habits outside the household level and setting, comparing

differences and their implications to traditional Greek and Roman dining.)

Readings

Casson, Lionel. 1974. Inns and Restaurants, in Travel in the Ancient World. George

Allen and Unwin Ltd., 197-218.

Davidson, James. 1998. Taverns, in Courtesans and Fishcakes: The Consuming Passions

of Classical Athens. New York: St Martins Press, 53-61.

Laurence, Ray. 1996. Deviant Behavior, inRoman Pompeii: Space and Society. New

York & London: Routledge, 70-87.

FRIDAY,OCTOBER19

BEANS,BEANS, THEMAGICAL - ORDEADLY-FRUIT

(We will explore food aversions and fascinations in the ancient world, and explicitly

compare them to what biology and anthropology has taught us about food con-

sumption and tastes today. These will include religious as well as wider cultural

food taboos. )

Readings

Beer, Michael. 2010. Beans, in Taste or Taboo: Dietary Choices in Antiquity. Devon,

England: Prospect Books, 44-53.

Garnsey, Peter. 1998. The Bean: Substance and Symbol, in Cities, Peasants and Food

in Classical Antiquity: Essays in Social and Economic History. Cambridge:



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Class activity: mid-term feedback survey

MONDAY,OCTOBER22

FEEDING THEGODS,FEEDINGSOURSELVES

(We will explore about the role of food in ancient religion, from dietary prescrip-

tions of the ancient Hebrews to the role of food in Greek and Roman sacrificial

rituals.)

Readings

Soler, Jean. 2008. Biblical Reasons: The Dietary Rules of the Ancient Hebrews, in

Food: A Culinary History from Antiquity to the Present,ed. Jean-Louis Flandrin

and Massimo Montanari. New York: Columbia University Press, 46-54.

Wilkes, John M. and Shaun Hill. 2006. Food and Ancient Religion, inFood in the

Ancient World. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 81-111.

WEDNESDAY,OCTOBER24FOODIDENTITY:US AND THEM

(Whether we realize it or not, what people choose to eat [or not] and how they de-

cide to prepare it goes into how we define ourselves and others. In this class, we

will look at the different ways that ancient authors explicitly referred to food in the

context of defining what was Greek or Roman or other, and how those tensions

played out in contemporary archaeological deposits.)

Readings

Beer, Michael. 2010. Vegetarianism, in Taste or Taboo: Dietary Choices in Antiquity.

Devon, England: Prospect Books, 28-43.

Garnsey, Peter. 1999. Otherness, inFood and Society in Classical Antiquity.



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Longo, Oddone. 2008. The Food of Others, inFood: A Culinary History fromAntiquity to the Present, ed. Jean-Louis Flandrin and Massimo Montanari.

New York: Columbia University Press, 153-164.

Due to the wiki by 5pm: mid-term exam performance survey

FRIDAY,OCTOBER26

FOOD ANDFAMILY

(Sitting down to a nuclear family meal has not always been a part of traditional eat-

ing habits. In this class, we will explore variations in who was given what kind of

food, when, and how, with what implications for ancient society at large.)

Readings

Garnsey, Peter. 1999. Food and the Family, in Food and Society in Classical Antiquity.


Garnsey, Peter. 1988. Child rearing in ancient Italy, in Cities, Peasants and Food in

Classical Antiquity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 253-271.

Nielsen, Hanne Sigismund. 1998. Roman Children at Mealtimes,Meals in Social

Context, ed. Inge Nielsen and Hanne Nielsen. Aarhus: Aarhus University

Press, 56-66.

MONDAY,OCTOBER29

FOOD AND... SEX?

(Gender and status played a large part in any individuals role in dining. In this

class, we will explore textual and art historical sources regarding the role of women

in different dining contexts.)


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Readings

Roller, Matthew. 2003. Horizontal Women: Posture and Sex in the Roman

Convivium,American Journal of Philology143.2 (Special Issue: Roman

Dining): 377-422.

WEDNESDAY,OCTOBER31

FOOD FOR THEDEAD

(In this class, we will examine how dining with the dead reflected life for the living,

and how funerary iconography and ritual colors our understanding of food, drinkand ritual in the ancient world.)

Readings

Lindsay, Hugh. 1998. Eating with the Dead: The Roman Funerary Banquet, in

Meals in a Social Context, ed. Inge Nielsen and Hanne Nielsen. Aarhus:

Aarhus University Press, 67-80.

Tuck, Anthony S. 1994. The Etruscan Seated Banquet: Villanovan Ritual and

Etruscan Iconography,American Journal of Archaeology98.4: 617-628.

FRIDAY,NOVEMBER2

FOOD AND THESTATE

(While the ancient world didnt have an FDA as such, the state did play a part in

what kinds of food people had access to and how they ate it once they did. In this

class, we will examine how different states controlled food and to what end, as well

as how rulers and their administrations used food to convince their subjects that

they were fit and right to rule.)

Readings

Beer, Michael. 2010. State control of food: Spartan diet and Roman sumptuary

laws, in Taste or Taboo: Dietary Choices in Antiquity. Devon, England: Prospect

Books, 101-115.


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Malmberg, S. 2007. Dazzling dining: banquets as an expression of imperiallegitimacy, inEat, Drink and Be Merry (Luke 12:19): Food and Wine in

Byzantium (In Honour of Professor A.A.M. Bryer),ed. Leslie Brubaker


MONDAY,NOVEMBER5

FROMPOLITICS TORELIGION(AGAIN):EARLYCHRISTIANITY

(In this class, we will explore how the practice of and regulations of a developing

Christianity both relied upon and changed pre-Christian Mediterranean dininghabits, with what implications for ancient society at large. Particular attention will

be paid to changing vocabulary surrounding food and religion, and portrayal in

art.)

Readings

Bynum, Caroline Walker. 1987. Food as control of self and Epilogue inHolyFeast and Holy Fast: the Religious Significance of Food to Medieval Women.

Berkeley: University of California Press, 189-218; 297-302.

Vroom, Joanita. 2007. The changing dining habits at Christs table, inEat, Drinkand Be Merry (Luke 12:19): Food and Wine in Byzantium (In Honour of Professor

A.A.M. Bryer), ed. Leslie Brubaker and Kallirroe Linardou. Burlington, VT:

Ashgate, 191-222.

First draft and summary form due by midnight.

WEDNESDAY,NOVEMBER7

FOOD INBYZANTIUM

(As the Roman empire split and became two, with the eastern half continuing as

what we now know as the Byzantine empire, food and drink practices continued to

retain visibly Roman characteristics as well as develop into new practices and hab-

its. In this class, we will explore the context of those similarities and changes, and


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discuss whether or not food practices influence how we talk about a Byzantineversus Roman empire.)

Readings

Kolbaba, Tia. 2000. The Lists, Their Authors, and Their Audience and Unclean

Food in the Lists, in The Byzantine Lists: The Errors of the Latins. Urbana &

Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 23-31, 145-162.

Talbot, Alice-Mary. 2007. Mealtime in monasteries: the culture of the Byzantine

refectory, inEat, Drink and Be Merry (Luke 12:19): Food and Wine inByzantium (In Honour of Professor A.A.M. Bryer),ed. Leslie Brubaker


FRIDAY,NOVEMBER9

FOODFROM THEEAST:ARAB CUISINE IN THEMEDIEVALMEDITERRANEAN

(While the earlier classes on others and on food acquisition during travel show

that the Mediterranean was a place of mobility and connectivity, this class will high-

light how, through food, we can explore the connectivity of the ancient Mediterra-nean world.)

Readings

Korobeinikov, D. 2007. A sultan in Constantinople: the feasts of Ghiyath al-Din Kay

Khusraw I, inEat, Drink and Be Merry (Luke 12:19): Food and Wine in

Byzantium (In Honour of Professor A.A.M. Bryer),ed. Leslie Brubaker


Rosenberger, Bernard. 2008. Arab Cuisine and Its Contribution to EuropeanCulture, inFood: A Culinary History from Antiquity to the Present,ed. Jean-

Louis Flandrin and Massimo Montanari. New York: Columbia University

Press, 207-223.


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MONDAY,NOVEMBER12FOOD ANDMEDICINE

(Treatment for illnesses did not always come in a pill bottle, and more often than

not, not even from doctors. In this class, we will explore how medical practice in

the ancient world relied on food, how they defined medicine with regard to food,

and how it compares to modern medicine.)

Readings

Garnsey, Peter. 1999. Malnutrition, inFood and Society in Classical Antiquity.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 43-61.

Riddle, John M. 1997. The Herbs Known to the Ancients, in Eves Herbs: A History

of Contraception and Abortion in the West. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press, 35-53.

Wilkes, John M. and Shaun Hill. 2006. Medical Approaches to Food, inFood in the

Ancient World. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 211-244.

WEDNESDAY,NOVEMBER14

FOOD FOR THEMASSES

(Because of the sources, much of what we know about food comes from elite litera-

ture and art. However, archaeology is expanding that picture widely and in innova-

tive directions, and in this class we will explore how we can reach a better picture

of what normal people ate on a daily basis.)

Readings

Garnsey, Peter. 1999. Haves and Havenots, inFood and Society in Classical Antiquity.


Montanari, Massimo. 2008. Peasants, Warriors, Priests: Images of Society and Styles

of Diet, inFood: A Culinary History from Antiquity to the Present, ed. Jean-

Louis Flandrin and Massimo Montanari. New York: Columbia University

Press, 178-188.


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FRIDAY,NOVEMBER16

FEASTS ANDFEASTING (PARTI)

(Just as earlier classes focused on dining at the household level and outside the

household setting, this class will focus on dining at a grand scale and special occa-

sions: the feast.)

Readings

Donahue, John F. 2003. Toward a typology of Roman public feasting, in American

Journal of Philology124.3 (Special Issue: Roman Dining): 423-441.

Douglas, C. Wilson and William L. Rathje. 2001. Garbage and the modern

American feast, inFeasts: Archaeological and Ethnographic Perspectives on

Food, Politics and Power, ed. Michael Dietler and Brian Hayden. Washington,

DC & London: Smithsonian Institute Press, 404-421.

Garnsey, Peter. 1999. You are with whom you eat, in Food and Society in Classical

Antiquity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 128-138.

MONDAY,NOVEMBER19

FEASTS ANDFEASTING (PARTII)

Class activity: making food like the ancients

(Students will prepare food to bring in and share according to the recipes

that have come down to us from antiquity. They will share the difficulties

they had in preparation and finding ingredients, and how they found the

taste. If they do not have the means or facilities to try out a recipe, they will

choose a recipe and write a 1-2 page discussion of what kinds of difficultiesthey are likely to encounter.)

Second draft and summary form due by midnight.


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NOCLASS-THANKSGIVING BREAK

FRIDAY,NOVEMBER23

NOCLASS-THANKSGIVING BREAK

MONDAY,NOVEMBER26

NOCLASS-MEETINGS ABOUT FINAL PAPERS


FEASTS ANDFEASTING (PARTIII)

(Having returned from Thanksgiving break, we will return to the issue of feasts and

feasting and how it may or may not have differed in the ancient Mediterranean.)

Readings

Dietler, Michael and Brian Hayden. 2001. Digesting the feast - good to eat, good to

drink, good to think: an introduction, in Feasts: Archaeological and

Ethnographic Perspectives on Food, Politics and Power, ed. Michael Dietler and

Brian Hayden. Washington, DC & London: Smithsonian Institute Press, 1-

20.

Joannes, Francis. 2008. The social function of banquets in the Earliest

Civilizations, inFood: A Culinary History from Antiquity to the Present,ed.

Jean-Louis Flandrin and Massimo Montanari. New York: Columbia

University Press, 32-37.Lev-Tov, Justin and Kevin M. McGeough. 2006. Examining Feasting in Late Bronze

Age Syro-Palestine Through Ancient Texts and Bones, in The Archaeology of

Food and Identity, ed. Katheryn C. Twiss. Carbondale, Ill.: Center for

Archaeological Investigations at Southern Illinois University Carbondale,

85-111.


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FRIDAY,NOVEMBER30GLUTTONY ANDMORALITY

(Just as fear of not eating enough was a looming specter in the ancient world, the

notion of eating too much also carried its negative implications. In this class, we

will examine how overeating in the ancient world was written about and depicted

in art.)

Readings

Beer, Michael. 2010. Gluttony versus abstinence: the tyrant and the saint, in Tasteor Taboo: Dietary Choices in Antiquity.Devon, England: Prospect Books, 116-

121.

Petronius, The Dinner of Trimalchio, inSatyricon.

MONDAY,DECEMBER3

FOOD ANDMORALITYPARTII

(We will continue the discussion from the previous week, building upon how dis-

approval of excess played out in politics and morality.)

Readings

Gowers, Emily. 1993. An Approach to Eating in The Loaded Table: Representations of

Food in Roman Literature.Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1-49.

WEDNESDAY,DECEMBER5

FOOD ON THEROAD

(Since we live in a world that is consistently described as increasingly globalized,

this final lecture-as-such focuses on how much people traveled in the ancient

world, how they dealt with food and taboos [or not] while they did, and whom they

might have met along the way - and whattheyate, with what implications for cross-

cultural exchange through foodways.)


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Readings

Constable, Olivia Remie. 2003. Accepting all comers: a cross-cultural institution

in late antiquity, inHousing the Stranger in the Mediterranean World: Lodging,

Travel and Trade in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press, 11-39.

Dry, Carol.A. 1997. Food and the Roman army: travel, transport and

transmission, inFood on the Move, ed. H. Walker. Totnes: Prospect Books,

84-96.Matthews, John. 2006. Introduction and Food and Diet, in The Journey of

Theophanes: Travel, Business, and Daily Life in the Roman East. New Haven &

London: Yale University Press, 1-11, 138-180.

FRIDAY,DECEMBER7

FOODPOEMS

Readings

Selections from Washington, Peter (ed.). 2003.Eat, Drink, and Be Merry: Poems AboutFood and Drink. New York: Knopf.

FINAL PAPER DUE BYMIDNIGHT.

MONDAY,DECEMBER10-WEDNESDAY,DECEMBER12

READINGPERIOD

FRIDAY,DECEMBER14

FINAL EXAM


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AND NOW, FORREVELRY!


food and drink - syllabus

Documents