Rachel Stella, Copy Editor
Ross Reed, Health Editor, Contributor
The Lewis University History Center, in cooperation with the Arts and Ideas Program, is presenting a two-semester faculty colloquium titled “Food for Thought,” with support from a grant from the Doherty Center. This series of presentations brings faculty from various fields together to discuss a subject affecting everyone—food.
History professor Ewa Bacon, coordinator of the colloquium, used the German term “zeitgeist,” which means “spirit of the times,” to refer to the prevalence of the subject in food in our culture’s collective conversation.
“We are surrounded by people who are talking about food,” said Bacon. “We have cooking shows. We have famous chefs. We have ideas of famine and ideas of food maldistribution. Food is everywhere.”
The “Food for Thought” series consists of a variety of conversations about food, including lectures, panel discussions and films, through the perspective of different academic disciplines.
The very first event in the series was a showing of the film “Ratatouille” on Sept. 6, prefaced by notes from Bacon on some historical and cultural aspects of food in France. Bacon explained that the aristocracy’s diminished power after the French Revolution contributed to the establishment of the restaurant, where professional chefs would prepare dishes for those willing to pay for the food and service.
Forty-five students attended the showing of the film.
This colloquium brings together faculty members from fields such as English, Justice/Law/Public Safety Studies, sports and exercise science, psychology, biology, history, sociology, chemistry and theology to discuss a variety of issues related to food.
“Food is something relatable in terms of nutrition, starvation, spirituality and community,” said history professor Mark Schultz. “No matter the field of study, there will be something for everybody—like the circus.”
Schultz is scheduled to be part of a discussion in the series on Oct. 13 titled “Mother’s Milk or Satan’s Apple: Discriminating Tastes in ‘Babette’s Feast.’”
“We have a personal connection to food, a cultural connection to food, a global connection to food and fundamentally, a biological connection to food,” said Bacon. “Food is related to growth, to health, to illness, but it is also the source of community, the heart of the family, and joy.”
Colloquium speaker presentations are held in room AS158-A at 2 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays with film presentations on Tuesdays. Project points are given to students in Culture and Civilization for attending each event.
Students can consult the Arts and Ideas brochure for upcoming “Food for Thought” presentations.
Photo provided by Ross Reed.
Rachel Stella
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