By Lori Tarbett
Seeing the obvious in a new light.
That’s what you might be doing if you were a student in Marieka Sax’s first year seminar class, Practice, Experience, Power and Symbol: The Anthropology of Food and Cuisine.
The contract instructor, who joined Carleton’s sociology and anthropology department in July, has been asked to teach the new seminar and stresses, “I want [my students] to see the obvious in a new light and see how food connects them to other people, to other places and how it opens doors to all topics no matter what you’re interested in.”
Sax says the course coheres around the themes of phenomenology (experience), social/cultural practices, cultural symbolizations, and the broad political-economic concern of power – it’s social, community, lifestyle and historical implications. Sax explains that food is connected to all aspects of life, such as family and culture, and is symbolic of who we are as people.
According to Sax, “Food is central to eating in a meaningful way. It is central to the experience of what it means to be human.” Communities gather around food and certain cultures celebrate traditions and religions with food, adds Sax.
Food also plays a large role in globalization as it has been shipped over great distances to various countries for hundreds of years, notes Sax. Its ability to surpass time and cultural barriers has made it a very prominent societal topic. From sustainability, food production for fuel, organic farming, to ethics and safety, food is a constant in the media and daily discussions. Sax hopes her students will open up about these topics in her seminar: “We don’t have to be experts to talk about food. We have a rich personal history and our own experiences to draw upon when it comes to cuisine and food,” says Sax.
Sax is putting the final touches on her master’s thesis which is based on field work she completed last year while in the Peruvian Andes. Sax says food and feeding is extremely important to Andean society.