FREN 323 - A Table! A Culinary Approach to French and Francophone Cultures

France is famous for its cuisine. It is also influenced by the cuisine of its former colonies, that also saw their food resources transformed through the colonial expansion. The course studies the transnational historical and geographical aspects of French and Francophone culinary specificities. From medieval recipes to the globalization of Francophone chefs, the course will focus on the transformations of cuisine from francophone regions and in France, and on their diverse rituals and traditions. From Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean, a crossroads of African, European and Asian influences to the gumbos and jambalayas of Louisiana, we will look into the particularities and diversity of fusion foods in Africa, the Caribbean, Vietnam, as well as into the Native American food interactions with the French voyageurs, which will allow us to discuss current events. The course includes some culinary materials (recipes, chefs blogs, scholarly and general articles, literary texts and films –fictions and documentaries), critical material about the sociology, economics, and epistemology of the culinary world and materials about diverse aspects of transnational francophone food - including diversity, sustainability, health, and hunger - as well as meetings with local chefs, bakers, and producers from France and the francophone world, all the way to the Twin Cities. The format of the course is a seminar, based in student discussions, research and presentations, with some Digital Humanities creative aspects and hopefully, will allow for some collective cooking time. Prerequisite(s): FREN 204 Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)