Food in Culture and Social Justice Certificate
This program is available at the following locations:
- Corvallis
- Ecampus
This certificate is available as a standalone program.
Food is more than simple nourishment. It is part of a system of communication firmly rooted in individual and group identities within cultures around the world. When and how we eat, what is considered acceptable to eat, how we prepare it, and how we learn about producing and eating food are all fascinating questions to explore by humanists and social scientists. Histories of particular food commodities and changes in the way people think about sustaining healthy bodies richly contextualize our present practices. Cultural analyses of food and food production lead us to question the level of social justice within the local and global food systems. Community food security is a condition in which all community residents obtain a safe, culturally acceptable, nutritionally adequate diet through a sustainable food system that maximizes community self-reliance and social justice. Students who complete this certificate will not only have a clear idea of the cultural bases of food and food production but will obtain some experience working towards community food security.
Certificate Code: C315
Upon successful completion of the program, students will meet the following learning outcomes:
- Develop and apply critical thinking and critical writing competencies about food, culture and social justice.
- Describe food systems in multiple perspectives including time, place, culture, and scale.
- Analyze how socially constructed differences, combined with unequal distribution of power across economic, social, and political institutions, result in discrimination in the food system.
- Critically evaluate the role of food in the construction of identity (gender, ethnicity, religious, etc).
- Discuss the importance of historical competence as it pertains to changing ideas about food and the historical trajectory of certain foods.
- Demonstrate skills of observation and analysis of food using mixed methods.
- Through study and engagement with community projects and policy, articulate a vision of equity in the food system and steps to achieve this.
Complete 16 credits of core courses and then choose 6 credits of electives within the College of Liberal Arts and 6 credits of electives from outside the College of Liberal Arts.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Core | ||
| AEC 411 | +*INTRODUCTION TO FOOD SYSTEMS: LOCAL TO GLOBAL | 3 |
| FCSJ 361/ANTH 361 | +*FOOD JUSTICE | 4 |
| FCSJ 406 | FOOD PROJECTS | 1 |
| FCSJ 464/ES 464 | FOOD AND ETHNIC IDENTITY: DECOLONIZING OUR FOOD AND BODY | 3 |
| FCSJ 467 | CAPSTONE: FOOD IN CULTURE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE | 1 |
| HST 416 | *FOOD IN WORLD HISTORY | 4 |
| Liberal Arts Electives | ||
| Select 6 credits from the following: 1 | 6 | |
| ARCHAEOLOGY OF FORAGERS | ||
| NUTRITIONAL ANTHROPOLOGY | ||
| *ANTHROPOLOGY OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT | ||
| NATIVE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHIES | ||
| +*FOOD IN AMERICAN CULTURE | ||
| *INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON FOOD SYSTEMS | ||
| ANTHROPOLOGY OF FOOD | ||
| *ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS | ||
| GLOBAL FOOD POLITICS AND POLICY | ||
| *SOCIAL INEQUALITY | ||
| FOOD WRITING | ||
| Electives from Outside the College of Liberal Arts | ||
| Select 6 credits from the following: 1 | 6 | |
| ^AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD POLICY ISSUES | ||
| +*INDIGENOUS ECOSYSTEM SCIENCES IN PACIFIC NORTHWEST REGIONS | ||
| PRINCIPLES OF ANIMAL FOODS TECHNOLOGY | ||
| +*CONTENTIOUS SOCIAL ISSUES IN ANIMAL SCIENCE | ||
| CROP ECOLOGY AND MORPHOLOGY | ||
| *WORLD FOOD CROPS | ||
| *PENS AND PLOWS: WRITINGS OF WORKING THE LAND | ||
| +*SOIL SCIENCE | ||
| *GENES AND CHEMICALS IN AGRICULTURE: VALUE AND RISK | ||
| DAIRY PROCESSING | ||
| *FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN WESTERN CULTURE | ||
| *WINE IN THE WESTERN WORLD | ||
| FOOD SAFETY AND SANITATION | ||
| FOOD LAW | ||
| +SUSTAINABILITY FOR THE COMMON GOOD | ||
| +FAMILIES AND POVERTY | ||
| INTRODUCTION TO HORTICULTURAL SYSTEMS, PRACTICES AND CAREERS | ||
| ORGANIC FARMING AND GARDENING | ||
| CROP PRODUCTION IN PACIFIC NORTHWEST AGROECOSYSTEMS | ||
| +*FOOD AND CULTURE | ||
| ^CULTURAL ASPECTS OF FOODS | ||
| HUMAN NUTRITION SCIENCE: MACRONUTRIENTS | ||
| COMMUNITY NUTRITION | ||
| MANAGING FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICES | ||
| +*SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES | ||
| TOXIC SUBSTANCES IN FOOD | ||
| Total Credits | 28 | |
- *
Baccalaureate Core course. Applies to general education requirements for undergraduate students in a catalog year up to 2024-2025
- +
Core Education course. Applies to general education requirements for undergraduate students in catalog year 2025-2026 and beyond
- ^
Writing Intensive Curriculum (WIC) course
- 1
Appropriate courses through the College and outside the College of Liberal Arts, as well as transfer credits, may also be used to satisfy requirements when approved in advance by the program coordinator
Certificate Code: C315