Food and Society in Early Modern Europe (10 credit points)

Pre-requisites for enrolment

No prior knowledge required.

Content of Course

1. An introduction to sources, trends and problems.

2. Supply and farming in late medieval and Renaissance Europe.

3. Food, medicine and science.

4. Food and status: elite diets, preparation and consumption.

5. Food and religion. Order and misrule.

6. Retailers, shopping and taste in early modern Europe.

7. Famine and dietary deficiency.

8. Wine and Beer: Production and drinking habits, taverns and regulation.

9. Food and trade: Changing trade patterns, commodities and revenues.

10. New foodstuffs and changing patterns of consumption.

Teaching method(s)

Lecture-based with class discussion.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Understand and compare the food cultures of different social and geographical groups in early modern Europe;

• Evaluate and explain the extent to which patterns of consumption changed over the period;

• Discuss the social and economic effects of food shortage and other dietary deficiencies;

• Assess the value of food in a variety of contexts, e.g. as a sign of status, as a valuable commodity, its ceremonial value;

• Engage critically with primary and secondary sources;

• Demonstrate the above points in the assessment.

Sources

Core Readings

Essential:

• Albala K., 2003. Food in Early Modern Europe. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press

Recommended:

• Albala, K. 2002. Eating Right in the Renaissance. Berkeley; London: University of California Press

• Albala K. 2003. Food in Early Modern Europe. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press

• Cavallo, Sandra and Storey, Tessa. 2013 Healthy Living in Late Renaissance Italy, Oxford: Oxford University Press

• Holt, Mack P. 2006. Alcohol: a social and cultural history. Oxford: Berg

• Mennell S. 1985. All Manners of Food: eating and taste in England and France from the Middle Ages to the present. Oxford: Basil Blackwell

• Sarti, Raffaella. 2002. Europe at Home: Family and Material Culture: 1500 – 1800. Yale University Press

• Schwartz S. (ed.) 2004. Tropical Babylons: Sugar and the Making of the Atlantic World, 1450-1680, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press

• Strong, R. 2003. Feast: a history of grand eating. London, Pimlico

• Thirsk, Joan. 2006. Food in early modern England: phases, fads, fashions, 1500-1760 London: Hambledon Continuum

• Toussaint-Samat, Maguelonne. 2009 (2nd edition). A History of Food. Wiley-Blackwell .

• Wheaton B. 1983. Savouring the past: the French kitchen and table from 1300 to 1789. London: Chatto & Windus

Class Handouts

Handouts will be provided.

Assessments

10 credit courses have one assessment. Normally, the assessment is a 2000 word essay, worth 100% of the total mark, submitted by week 12. To pass, students must achieve a minimum of 40%. There are a small number of exceptions to this model which are identified in the Studying for Credit Guide.

Studying for Credit

If you choose to study for credit you will need to allocate significant time outwith classes for coursework and assessment preparation. Credit points gained from this course can count towards the Certificate of Higher Education.

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email COL@ed.ac.uk or by phone 0131 650 4400.

Student support

If you have a disability, learning difficulty or health condition which may affect your studies, please let us know by ticking the 'specific support needs' box on your course application form. This will allow us to make appropriate adjustments in advance and in accordance with your rights under the Equality Act 2010. For more information please visit the Student Support section of our website.