Topics in AMCS: What Are You Eating for Dinner? Politics of Exotic and Authentic Asian American Food

AMERICAN CULTURE STUDIES 330

Asian American food has become a staple in the American food scene. Adapted to American tastes, Asian food has moved from excluding early Asian migrants, to performing inclusion for Asian American populations, stimulating curiosity in Asian cultures, and promoting global food tourism. This course unpacks the journey of Asian America from exclusion to inclusion through food! Evaluating the constructs of food as disgusting, foreign, smelly, to modern constructs of curiosity, authenticity, and liberalism, the course encourages students to recognize, interrogate, and record their food journeys to unpack how food has been an instrument for marginalization, discrimination, labor exploitation, malnutrition, assimilation, beautification, sexualization, tourism, fusion, and new transnational illiberalism. This class will tie your personal "tastes" to literary theories. Bring your appetites, lunches, and critical thoughts with you to this class! Texts of study include diverse literary genres, film, shows, food vlogs, and surveys of your popular haunts in STL.
Course Attributes: EN H; BU Hum; AS HUM; FA HUM; AR HUM

Section 01

Topics in AMCS: TBD
INSTRUCTOR: Ghosh
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