FOOD & CULTURE IN SPAIN – This course intends to demonstrate the role of food in the shaping of a nation.  Students will study a number of historical periods in which food plays a role in the creation of social, religious, and political identities, including especially the Middle Ages and the adoption of Arab cuisine by Christians; the “discovery” of America, which helped create the Mediterranean diet as we now know it; and current investigations into food and regional development in Spain and its effect on socio-economic progress.  By analyzing the culture of consumption, students will be able to better understand how national identity can be formed through its food and foodways.