History of Food in East Asia (outline)

EAS219H1S: Cultural History of Food in East Asia

Course Overview What is food "for"? How does food function in society? This interdisciplinary course introduces

historical, cultural, and socio-economic aspects of food and foodways in China, Japan, and Korea, from the earliest societies down to the present. Thinking about food provides us with critical and scholarly tools to understand historical change, structures of consumption and collective life, and allows us to delve into topics such as the role of ritual, religion and cosmology, the evolution of trade, the transfer of ideas/technology, plus many more.

Toronto, with its many vibrant Asian communities, allows us to experience food cultures in a global context. Often, questions about food and its history begin with encounters that involve our senses. For this reason, this course will suggest various "field activities" (observations of food ingredients and situations) to supplement our lectures and reading.

There are no prerequisites. Some knowledge of premodern and modern histories of East Asia (such as from EAS103/105) can be helpful for the course.

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Week 1: Introduction: Why study food?

Week 2: Early Staple Foods Required Reading:

? "The Origins of Agriculture," in E.N. Anderson, Food and Environment in Early and Medieval China, 30--47. ? "Investigation of Ancient Noodles, Cakes, and Millet at the Subeixi Site, Xinjiang, China." Journal of

Archaeological Science 38, no. 2 (2011): 470-79. (Focus on the sections "Introduction," "Site description," "Discussion" and "Conclusion.") ? "From Millet Cuisine to Han Imperial Cuisine," in Rachel Lauden, Cuisine and Empire: Cooking in World History, 87--94. (Available as E-book from UofT library)

Week 3: Kitchens Around Asia Required Reading:

? "A Second-century Chinese Kitchen Scene." Food and Foodways: Explorations in the History and Culture of Human Nourishment 1 (1985): 95?104.

? "Daily Foods," and "The Kitchen Space and Utensils," in Michael Pettid, Korean Cuisine: An Illustrated History, 27-67; 142-159.

Week 4: Recipes and Cookbooks Required Reading:

? (Primary source) "Ni Zan, Cloud Forest Hall Collection of Rules for Drinking and Eating." In Hawaii Reader in Traditional Chinese Culture, 444-55.

? "The Barbarians' Cookbook," and (Primary source) "The Southern Barbarians' Cookbook (Nanban ryorisho)," in Eric Rath, Food and Fantasy in Early Modern Japan, 85-111; 189-195.

Reading Response #1 due

Week 5: Banquets and Ritual Required Reading:

? Joanna Waley-Cohen, "The Quest for Perfect Balance: Taste and Gastronomy in Imperial China." In Food: The History of Taste, 99?134.

? "Of Knives and Men: Cutting Ceremonies and Cuisine," in Food and Fantasy in Early Modern Japan, 38-51. ? "Foods of the Royal Palace," in Korean Cuisine: An Illustrated History, 128-141.

~~~ reading week ~~~

Week 6: Drinks and Other Potent Stuff Required Reading:

? "Buddhism and Tea during the Tang Dynasty," in James Benn, Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History, 42-71.

? "Drinks," in Korean Cuisine: An Illustrated History, 110-127. ? "The Morality of Drunkenness in Chinese Literature of the Third Century CE." In Scribes of Gastronomy:

Representations of Food and Drink in Imperial Chinese Literature, 27-43. Field Report #1 due

Week 7: Pharmaceutical Foods Required Reading:

? "Traditional Medical Values of Food," in E.N. Anderson, The Food of China, 187-198. ? Carla Nappi, "Surface Tension: Objectifying Ginseng in Chinese Early Modernity." In Early Modern Things:

Objects and their Histories 1500?1800, 31?52.

Week 8: Flavoring Food Required Reading:

? (Primary source) "Discovery of Crystalized Sugar," In Hawaii Reader in Traditional Chinese Culture, 399-404 ? Jordan Sand, "A Short History of MSG: Good Science, Bad Science, and Taste Cultures." Gastronomica: The

Journal of Food and Culture 5, no. 4 (2005): 38-49. ? Katarzyna Cwiertka, "The Soy Sauce Industry in Korea: Scrutinising the Legacy of Japanese Colonialism."

Asian Studies Review 30, no. 4 (2006): 389?410. Reading Response #2 due

Week 9: Food and Identities Required Reading:

? Theodore Bestor, "Cuisine and Identity in Contemporary Japan." In Routledge Handbook of Japanese Culture and Society, 273-86.

? "Kimchi goes to space, along with first Korean astronaut." New York Times, Feb 22, 2008.

? "Kimchi," in Robert Ku, Dubious Gastronomy: The Cultural Politics of Eating Asian in the USA, 86-102. ? "Consuming Identities: Food and Resistance among the Uyghur in Contemporary Xinjiang." Inner Asia 2, no.

2 (2000): 225-38. Field Report #2 due

Week 10: Fast Foods of Asia, Fast Foods in Asia Required Reading:

? "Introduction," and "The Taste of Something Good," in The Noodle Narratives: The Global Rise of an Industrial Food into the Twenty-first Century, 1-32. (Available as e-book from UofT Library.)

? Bak, Sangmee. "McDonald's in Seoul: Food Choices, Identity, and Nationalism." In Golden Arches East: McDonald's in East Asia, 136?60.

Week 11: Global Foods Required Reading:

? Mintz, Sidney W. "Asia's Contributions to World Cuisine: A Beginning Inquiry." In Food and Foodways in Asia: Resource, Tradition and Cooking, 201-10.

? Bestor, Theodore C. Tsukiji: The Fish Market at the Center of the World, 1-49.

Week 12: Food and Labor, Food and Migration Required Reading:

? "The Golden Venture: Restaurant Workers To Go," and "The Mystery of the Missing Chinese Deliveryman," in Jennifer 8. Lee, The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food, 107138; 151-164.

? Diane Jacob, "The Meaning of Mangoes," , June 15, 2015. Field Report #3 due

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