LAS 230: Latin America: Food and Culture

Food is of wide-ranging interest because it makes up a significant part of the cultures that bind people together into national communities. Food is central to cross-cultural studies of behavior, thought, and symbolism. This course explores the connections between what people in Latin America eat and who they are through cross-cultural study of Latin Americans' food production, preparation, and consumption. Readings are organized around critical discussions of what people cook and eat in Mexico, Tucson-Mexico Border, Caribbean, Central America, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, and Argentina. A primary goal of the course is to provide students with theoretical and empirical tools to understand and evaluate the relationship between food, history, culture, and economy in Latin America at local and global levels.