This course examines the social relations surrounding the production, distribution, preparation,
and consumption of food. In doing so, we will try to understand how the issues and problems of
daily life reflect larger social forces, and how our understanding and actions shape the social
world. This means that we will treat several major questions facing sociology today, including
inequalities and identities based on national, racial/ethnic, class and gender positions; work and
family; the environment; globalization and cultural change. We will explore some of the big
questions about food and talk about some of the intriguing answers that sociologists have
provided.