Themester is a College of Arts and Sciences program that includes speakers, events and classes across many departments centered around one topic. The theme for this semester is “Eat, Drink, Think: Food from Art to Science” and involves more than 25 courses across 15 departments.
Courses include Nationalism and Food in the international studies department and Economics of Obesity in the economics department. Some classes were offered during the Intensive Freshmen Seminar program in August. The rest are currently taking place.
Freshman Janani Krishnan said she has always been interested in food and all aspects of the food industry and wanted to explore the topic through the lens of her psychology major.
So Krishnan enrolled in professor Andrew Libby’s IFS course, Food for Thought.
“I wanted to look at why people eat,” she said.
Krishnan said the first part of the course covered aspects of food production, such as why the United States uses so much corn, how animals are raised and the pros and cons of organic food. The implications of these topics were discussed in the second part of the course.
“We didn’t look at it from just the industry, producer or consumer side but all sides,” she said.
Krishnan said she got a lot out of the course and said she never got bored despite classes going on for five to six hours per day.
“I learned how non-diverse our food system is and how you need to be careful when reading labels,” she said.
Krishnan added that the course provided practical education for college, where she has to make daily food choices on her own.
“I’ve been able to make more conscientious decisions as a consumer,” she said.
Sophomore chemistry major Aamina Khan said she has long been conscious of her own nutrition and food consumption but enrolled in professor Christine Barber’s Themester political science course titled The Politics of What’s for Dinner to further understand the food industry and regulation.
A self-described foodie, Khan said she enjoys learning not only about the policy side of food but also the psychology behind food consumption.
Khan said the course and the related reading she has done on her own have made her realize Americans aren’t as aware about what’s in their food as they should be.
“Knowing what exactly is in your food is really eye-opening and empowering,” she said.
Khan said she also took a Themester course last year when the topic was “Connectedness: Networks in a Complex World” but said she likes this year’s Themester better.
“Food is something a lot more tangible, obviously,” she said. “It’s something everyone can relate to.”
