Scrumptious studying

The fantasy could be one all college students have, especially when their stomachs are rumbling in the middle of a biochemistry \nlecture. And now IU is making it happen.\nIn the fall of 2008, the anthropology department at IU will offer the world’s first doctorate in the anthropology of food. This concentration aims to give students an opportunity to partake in a versatile field.\n“Food studies of all kinds are increasing in popularity,” said anthropology department Chair Eduardo Brondizio in a news release. “IU offers the first program in the world leading to a Ph.D. in the social science of food.”\nThe idea first sprouted in 2000 when the anthropology department began enhancing its programs. \nThe food concentration idea took root and has been in the development stage – planning coursework and recruiting staff – for the past three years, Brondizio said in an interview.\n“I think it’s a good idea to offer a major in food for those students who are interested,” said junior Kristen Kuntz. “It is also a really big accomplishment for IU to have the first food major.”\nThirty-seven faculty members from a variety of departments, as well as several members of the Bloomington community, will come together to create this unique concentration. \n“We are very excited about bringing together faculty and the community,” Brondizio said. “There is such a large mass of people who already work with food topics. Now we have a chance to harness that and create a collective food concentration at IU.”\nThe department plans to create bridges between the school and the community through many service-learning programs, such as programs that provide food for the poor and elderly, according to the release.\nEveryone from the food bank to Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market to a local cooking school is being included in this endeavor. \n“We invited several groups from the community to join us and to help develop these service learning programs,” Brondizio said. “Everyone has been very helpful in figuring out what is interesting and what is important.”\nCourses aim to integrate applied issues and collaborated research to create a hands-on learning process, Brondizio said.\nFood connects to several issues today including health, human development and globalization, Brondizio said. \n“We hope to form good anthropologists that are well-rounded,” Brondizio said. “With an expertise in food they will be able to work in a variety of different markets.”\nSome of the topics covered in the program are prehistory and social change, human evolution and adaptation and health and nutrition. Students will also study political economy and development, food production and environment and food and identity.\n“I definitely think that concentrating in food would be a lot more fun than finance,” said sophomore Matt Lampert. “It would be interesting to see what was being taught.”\nTopics already include the history of chocolate, primate diets and the social and environmental causes of famine.\n“Indiana is home to a broad array of old and new immigrant communities, which create a rich context for understanding the importance of food in culture and the growing globalization of the world food system,” Program Director Rick Willk said in a news release.\nThe department also aims to offer a cooperative student exchange with a similar M.A. program at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies.\nStudents interested in the program are encouraged to submit applications for the fall 2008 semester. More information is available at http://www.indiana.edu/~anthro/food_anthro.html.