JAPN 317: Pacific Food Empires
Course Description:
This course examines the historical processes that have informed the food on our plates. In particular, we will look at food as a medium through which to understand the processes of migration, invention, colonialism, imperialism, and capitalism that have shaped much of the Asia-Pacific world, including Japan and the United States. Students will have a clear understanding of the processes of colonialism and globalization that informed the spread and invention of different food cultures and cuisines.
This course examines the historical processes that have informed the food on our plates. In particular, we will look at food as a medium through which to understand the processes of migration, invention, colonialism, imperialism, and capitalism that have shaped much of the Asia-Pacific world, including Japan and the United States. Students will have a clear understanding of the processes of colonialism and globalization that informed the spread and invention of different food cultures and cuisines.
MLO Met:
MLO 4: Secondary Culture Other Than Hispanic Cultures
MLO 4: Secondary Culture Other Than Hispanic Cultures
Course Narrative:
During the Spring 2021 semester, I took the course JAPN 317: Pacific Food Empires. Completion of this course fulfills Major Learning Outcome (MLO) 4, which requires students to use their understanding of culture to describe, analyze, and make connections with a culture other than Hispanic cultures.
Upon completion of this course, I have learned about the diaspora of Pacific ingredients, foods, and cultures. Although we don’t often think of it this way, food is a big part of culture which also has variations as it is introduced and merged with different countries and cultures. One of the ways that I was able to see an example of the diaspora of Asian foods is through the completion of Food for Thought: Oral Histories of the Central Coast’s Asian-Pacific Foodways: Sushi Hut, our final project. When speaking to the owners of Sushi Hut, I learned that as business owners they brought in some of the recipes they were familiar with, but also learned that to appeal to a broad audience they would also have to integrate recipes of other Asian cuisines. The interviewee shares that they started off as a, primarily, Japanese restaurant, but as time passed by, they began to integrate other Asian food, such as Korean noodles, but also American foods.
The course helped me understand that culture has many ways of spreading, whether it is through a language or food, as I saw in this course. In light of being reminded of the many aspects of culture, I was intrigued to continue to learn more about the origins of the foods that I like to consume, for example lettuce and chiles. Moving forward, I think it is important to learn about the origins of foods and produce that we consume in honor to maintain cultures alive. Food is a delicious way to keep cultures alive, but also one of many appealing ways to emerge ourselves in a new culture.
During the Spring 2021 semester, I took the course JAPN 317: Pacific Food Empires. Completion of this course fulfills Major Learning Outcome (MLO) 4, which requires students to use their understanding of culture to describe, analyze, and make connections with a culture other than Hispanic cultures.
Upon completion of this course, I have learned about the diaspora of Pacific ingredients, foods, and cultures. Although we don’t often think of it this way, food is a big part of culture which also has variations as it is introduced and merged with different countries and cultures. One of the ways that I was able to see an example of the diaspora of Asian foods is through the completion of Food for Thought: Oral Histories of the Central Coast’s Asian-Pacific Foodways: Sushi Hut, our final project. When speaking to the owners of Sushi Hut, I learned that as business owners they brought in some of the recipes they were familiar with, but also learned that to appeal to a broad audience they would also have to integrate recipes of other Asian cuisines. The interviewee shares that they started off as a, primarily, Japanese restaurant, but as time passed by, they began to integrate other Asian food, such as Korean noodles, but also American foods.
The course helped me understand that culture has many ways of spreading, whether it is through a language or food, as I saw in this course. In light of being reminded of the many aspects of culture, I was intrigued to continue to learn more about the origins of the foods that I like to consume, for example lettuce and chiles. Moving forward, I think it is important to learn about the origins of foods and produce that we consume in honor to maintain cultures alive. Food is a delicious way to keep cultures alive, but also one of many appealing ways to emerge ourselves in a new culture.