The Western Science Center in collaboration with Mt. San Jacinto College present
Fall 2013 Lecture Series: Food & Culture
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: Western Science Center Theater, 2345 Searl Parkway, Hemet, CA 92583
Cost: Free for WSC Members, $5 for students with ID, $8 for non-members
Sept 5 - Then & Now: The Mismatch Between Modern Food & Human Evolution, Professor Nick Reeves, Biology Department, Mt. San Jacinto College.
Food is essential to our survival. Our ancestors often struggled with an unpredictable food supply and the threat of starvation, while today we have access to more than enough food to survive. Explore whether the modern food environment is a reflection of our evolutionary history and if the adaptations that once kept our ancestors alive are now threatening our health.
Oct 3 - Politics of Food Safety, Professor Stacey Searl-Chapin, Political Science Department, and Professor Carla Maroudas, English Department, Mt. San Jacinto College.
Should “the government” play a role in the promotion and maintenance of food safety? If not, then who? Farmers? Corporations? Consumers? Touch on the inherent tension between our desire for cheap food that is also safe and nutritious.
Nov 7 - Planting “Patriarchy”: Consequences of Male Dominated Production, Professor Tamara Smith, History Department, Mt. San Jacinto College.
The long evolution of nomadic, early humans into settled agriculturalists resulted in profound changes for the sexes. As male dominated food production became the norm within most early civilizations around the globe, patriarchal social orderings replaced more egalitarian experiences between men and women. The centuries old remnants of this social system created gender roles that still linger in modern cultures and societies today.
Dec 5 - Food in Art, Professor John Seed, Art Department, Mt. San Jacinto College.
Works of art -- beginning in the Paleolithic era and ending in the present -- depict food as their subject matter. These works of art vary widely in their points of view and in what they have to say about food in all its aspects. Discover the changes in how food is prepared, served and socially contextualized over time.