Food and Agriculture in Historical Perspective (HISM041)
| Staff | Professor Harry G West - Convenor |
|---|---|
| Credit Value | 30 |
| ECTS Value | 15 |
| NQF Level | 7 |
| Pre-requisites | None |
| Co-requisites | None |
| Duration of Module | Term 2: 11 weeks; |
Module aims
You will read works on food and agriculture produced within a range of disciplines, including archaeology, classics, ancient history, history, and anthropology. Through engagement with the literature, you will gain perspectives on both historical trends in human foodways and the particularities of foodways in specific places and times. The module will prepare you for your own research in the field of study, whether academic or within the context of public institutions, industries, or third sector organisations with an interest in food and foodways, heritage and sustainability.
ILO: Module-specific skills
- 1. Demonstrate an understanding of how agriculture and foodways have evolved over time
- 2. Discern and trace historical linkages and transformations in agriculture and foodways
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
- 3. Identify the factors contributing to specific foodways within their historical contexts as well as complex interactions between these
- 4. Critically analyse the social and environmental consequences of historically specific foodways
ILO: Personal and key skills
- 5. Identify and critically analyse sources in various historical contexts
- 6. Present relevant information in support of coherent and persuasive historical accounts in various specific contexts
Syllabus plan
The module will be structured as a reading and discussion seminar. The following themes will likely be covered, with minor variation from year to year depending upon the availability and current research of lecturers contributing to the module:
- The Agricultural Revolution: Causes and Consequences
- The domestication of animals, and pastoralism
- Food in Antiquity
- Early modern agricultural markets
- The Columbian exchange and the globalisation of food
- Cultures of cooking and dining in the early modern period
- Devon food history
- The industrialisation of agriculture
- Food preservation and food safety through time
- The nutrition transition
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 278 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled learning and teaching | 22 | 11 x 2-hour weekly seminar |
| Guided independent study | 50 | 11 x 2-hour weekly seminar |
| Guided independent study | 20 | 10 x 2-hour weekly preparation of reading response papers |
| Guided independent study | 208 | Research and writing of essay |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly reading response papers and their use in class discussion | 2 weekly reading response papers totalling 500 words | 1-6 | Oral feedback after week 2 |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portfolio of weekly reading response papers and their use in class discussion | 33 | Portfolio of 8 weekly reading response papers totalling 2,000 words | 1-6 | Mark with written feedback on portfolio |
| Essay | 67 | 1 x 5,000-word essay on a relevant topic of students choice, approved by convener | 1-6 | Mark with written feedback |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portfolio of 8 weekly reading response papers totalling 2,000 words | Portfolio of 8 weekly reading response papers totalling 2,000 words | 1-6 | Referral/Deferral period |
| 1 x 5,000-word essay on a relevant topic of students choice, approved by convener | 1 x 5,000-word essay on a relevant topic of students choice, approved by convener | 1-6 | Referral/Deferral period |
Re-assessment notes
Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.
Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 50%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of referral will be capped at 50%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
- Bellwood, Peter (2005) First Farmers: The Origins of Agricultural Societies (Oxford: Blackwell).
- Bohstedt, J., The politics of provisions [electronic resource]: food riots, moral economy, and market transition in England, c. 1550-1850 (Farnham, 2010).
- Goldschmidt, Walter (1978) As You Sow: Three Studies in the Social Consequences of Agribusiness (Allanheld, Osmun, and Co.).
- Heath, Francis George (1911) British Rural Life and Labour, chapter 10 (London, P.S. King & Son, Orchard House, Westminster).
- Outram, Alan (2014) “Animal Domestications,” in Cummings V, Jordan P, Zvelebil M (eds) Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology and Anthropology of Hunter-Gatherers, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 749-763
- Popkin, Barry M. (2003) “The Nutrition Transition in the Developing World,” Development Policy Review 21(5-6): 581-597.
- Smith, Woodruff D. (2002) Consumption and the Making of Respectability 1600-1800 (Routledge).
- Thirsk, Joan (2007) Food in Early Modern England: Phases, Fads and Fashions 1500-1760 (Hambledon Continuum, London).
- Wilkins, John, David Harvey and Michael Dobson, eds. (1995) Food in Antiquity (Exeter).
- Wilson, Bee (2008) Swindled: From Poison Sweets to Counterfeit Coffee: The Dark History of the Food Cheats (John Murray).
Module has an active ELE page?
Yes
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
Available as distance learning?
No
Origin date
14/03/2018
Last revision date
17/01/2024
Key words search
Food, history, agriculture, industrialisation