HIST 840
Syllabus
Weekly discussion materials
Some historic menus

 

Week 1: Introduction to Course

Discussion of everyone’s research interests

Read or view and discuss

(a) articles:

“The strange foods that Americans loved a century ago” (Ana Swanson, The Washington Post, 26 January 2016):
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/01/26/the-strange-foods-that-americans-loved-a-century-ago/

“The food chains that link us all” (Mark Kurlansky, Time magazine, Canadian edition, 14 June 2007, 2 pages):
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1628191_1626317_1632247,00.html (page 1; click on arrow at end for p. 2, or:)
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1628191_1626317_1632247-2,00.html (page 2)

“Simmering over who can cook a favorite fritter” (Larry Richter, New York Times, 30 Nov. 2001)
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/30/international/30BRAZ.html

“Marketers adapt menus to eat-what-I-want-when-I-want trend” (Bruce Horovitz, USA Today, 22 November 2011)
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/story/2011-11-21/weird-eating/51338542/1 (alternative URL: https://www.foodstuffsa.co.za/us-food-marketers-adapt-to-eat-what-i-want-when-i-want-trend/)
The first URL includes an embedded 2:17 min. video profiling a junior at UC Berkeley with a double major and a 30-hour-per-week job
whose non-traditional eating patterns are becoming the new normal for students: http://bcove.me/44yrcyzr

A brief history of the cookbook (Mary Evans, “Pluck a flamingo: What cookbooks really teach us,” The Economist, 18 December 2008): https://chutzpah.typepad.com/slow_movement/2008/12/economist-what-cookbooks-really-teach-us.html (originally at:
http://www.economist.com/node/12795620)

“The science of menu layout” (Zachary Minot, NewYork Magazine, 28 September 2010):
http://cookingdistrict.com/cd/general.nsf/blogbydate/852578CF000187B9852577AC0054B37D?opendocument
(This article is also available at: http://nymag.com/restaurants/features/62498/)

(b) videos:

“Food Fight” (2006, 5:30 min.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-yldqNkGfo
List of battles: http://www.touristpictures.com/foodfight/index.htm
Combatant identity cheat sheet: http://www.touristpictures.com/foodfight/cheat.htm

“Food, Inc.” (film trailer, 2009, 3:31 min.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqQVll-MP3I
What is being sold in your supermarket? How is is being misrepresented to consumers?

Commercial for Indian spices (2:03 min.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L37B369GSVA&feature=related
Young couple . . . new house . . . bottled spices . . .?

Exquisite German flour commercial (1:30 min.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C253D0PrNiE&feature=related
What is the message of the flour-drawn art?

Cadbury’s Dairy Milk Chocolate (0:40 min.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMKTMkHFDS8
Combine chocolate with cricket and you get . . . this

“Food Ad Tricks” (from Buy Me That! produced by Consumer Reports© Television, 1989?, 2:59 min.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUjz_eiIX8k
A food stylist shows how to style a hamburger to look good on TV

Indian ad for TRS coconut milk (Crossfire films, 2008?, 0:36 min.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhrs6ZdzfJI
What is this ad trying to convey to viewers?

Funny Pepsi commercial (1:00 min.): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAjfuTeivaY
How is Pepsi being depicted here?

Russian ad for Burger King (1:43 min.): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9xXx9K8lj4   (How is this ad pitching the product?)

Chinese ad for Burger King (0.30 min): https://www.bilibili.com/video/av17917872/

“About Bananas” (silent classroom film, 1935, 11 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgjO_MD5e40

another copy:  https://archive.org/details/AboutBan1935

“Tampopo” (Japanese film, 1985):
(Trailer; 1:52 min.):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sur_pxcpuoE
(The ramen master, 1:53 min.):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qvy-NqioJpc
(French restaurant scene, 4:15 min.):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcMaZLiqVpI

Christine Evans writes: [A] typical recent Russian mayonnaise ad, showing the diversity of the category there, plus the visual pleasure of seeing large amounts of mayo put on food.  The flavors are “sour cream and mushroom” (for meat dishes) “cheesy” (for spaghetti and as a condiment) and “creamy garlic” (for meat and poultry).   Mmm, cheesy mayo.  For a while there in the 2000s it seemed like every third ad on TV was for mayonnaise…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXHlEZ7bx3Y (0.20 min.)