Building a Food Studies Program: On-the-Ground Reflections from Syracuse University

Abstract

Syracuse University (SU) is currently building a food studies program within the newly formed Department of Public Health, Food Studies, and Nutrition. In this essay we provide an overview of our experiences working to establish this food studies program at SU. We reflect on key issues that we struggle with and believe have resonance with and implications in the development of food studies as an academic discipline at other institutions. We briefly outline the emergence of food studies as a distinct area of scholarship, discuss both the opportunities and tensions food studies creates with established disciplines, provide background on the history of food studies at SU, discuss the process of curriculum development, explore the struggles to balance a liberal arts education with professional training, and conclude with some tentative lessons learned thus far in the process.