U Tokyo Liberal Arts Program

The act of “eating” is vital for supporting human’s life and also it connects people to cultures and societies. Focusing on Japan and Italy, these lectures consider the symbolic meanings and history of food culture by examining the literary texts and examples from art and festivals. The course discusses questions such as:

・What are the meanings of “eating”?

・What are the symbolical actions of “eating”?

・What kinds of things are happening when Italian food, Japanese food and Chinese food are considered as “national food”?

・What is the connection between “national language” and “national literature”?

In this era when the national differences have changed with globalization. The conflict of regional distinctiveness and global homogenization is considered through the lens of food culture with reference to contemporary food trends such as “slow food”.