Studying at York
The Global Food System - POL00057H
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 1 2024-25 |
Module aims
Food stands at the intersection of many of the world's most intractable political problems, including poverty and malnutrition, agricultural protectionism and free trade, interest group politics, lobbying and the role of transnational corporations, climate change, GM crops and most recently the increasing health-related consequences of poor diet and obesity. This module provides students with an advanced introduction to many of these issues. It does so using a global food systems approach, by which is meant considering food politics holistically, and by considering the different structural, institutional, behavioural and discursive drivers of dominant practices, and how these effect different societal groups (e.g. farmers, industry, consumers, policy-makers and civil society actors). The module will be based on both conceptual and thematic case study literatures. By the end, students will have a firm grasps of the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to understanding food politics and substantive knowledge of the various forms this takes in contemporary global, national and local politics.
Module learning outcomes
The aim of this module is to encourage students to think critically about a range of issues related to the global food system. Students are encouraged to apply theoretical knowledge to empirical situations as we examine food politics both historically and contemporaneously via a series of thematically organised seminars topics. By the end of this module students will be able to:
- Fully identify the strengths and weaknesses of different theoretical approaches to the global food system;
- Demonstrate independent and critical understanding of the most important aspects of the food system, and to show awareness of the relationship between theory and practice therein;
- Demonstrate appropriate cognitive, communicative and transferable skills, including understanding complex concepts and theories, exercising critical judgement, making effective oral and written presentations, utilising specialist primary and secondary sources, and deepening the capacity for independent learning.
Module content
Likely structure to include:
1 Intro
2 Analysing the global food system
3 Global food crisis
4 Multinational corporations and global land grabbing
5 Agrarian movement, food sovereignty and the peasant way
6 The gendered politics of global food
7 Food system governance
8 Environmental politics, meatification, and food sustainability transitions
9 Agrarian struggles and the global authoritarian turn
10 The global politics of food consumption
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Special assessment rules
None
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Module feedback
Students will receive written timely feedback on their formative assessment. They will also have the opportunity to discuss their feedback during the module tutor's feedback and guidance hours.
Students will receive written feedback on their summative assessment no later than 25 working days after submission; and the module tutor will hold a specific session to discuss feedback, which students can also opt to attend. They will also have the opportunity to discuss their feedback during the module tutor's regular feedback and guidance hours.
Indicative reading
Jennifer Clapp, Food, Polity 2012.
Raj Patel, Stuffed and Starved, Portbelo 2007.
Tony Weis, The Global Food Economy, Zed 2007.
Phillip McMichael, Food Regimes and Agrarian Questions, Fernwood 2013.
Geoff Tansey and Tony Worsely, The Food System, Earthscan 1995.
David Goodman and Michael Watts, eds, Globalizing Food, Routledge 1996.
Anne Murcott et al , Handbook of Food Research, Bloomsbury 2013.
Marion Nestle, Food Politics, University of California Press 2013.
Julie Guthman, Weighing In, University of California Press 2013.