Health Studies

This class examines the complex connections between food, understandings of health, and social justice. Of course, the availability of sufficient, appealing, and healthy food is critical for human wellbeing, but what constitutes good food and what it means to thrive are each significantly shaped by social, cultural, and historical context. So, what do people mean when they call food “healthy?” What is the relationship between social inequality, food systems, and health outcomes? What kinds of norms or value judgments are wrapped up in the ways in which people talk about nutrition? How does nutritional science shape popular understandings of healthy eating? To answer these questions, we will read and discuss interdisciplinary research that situates food and health within broader social and cultural contexts.