Spring 2008

AMS 311S • Dining Out in America: Culture and History-W

Course Description

From airplane food to fast food, steakhouses to Starbucks, we have all experienced dining out in one form or another. Interestingly, many of the same reasons why we eat out nowtravel, convenience, celebrations, and leisurecontributed to the creation of the first public eating establishments in the United States. This course examines the rise of restaurants in America from the colonial era to the present and analyzes how they function as public social spaces in American culture.

Throughout the course, we will examine who has access to restaurants and in what capacity, and how different genres of eating establishments have been used by patrons to satisfy varying social and cultural demands and desires. What can a study of restaurants tell us about privilege and power, leisure and entertainment, class conflict and gender dynamics, ethnicity and nationalism, regional identity and American standardization? What can public dining spaces tell us about the private lives of their patrons? Finally, what role does food actually play in dining out? As an American Studies course, this class will use a variety of methods to investigate the cultural role of restaurants, drawing on fields as diverse as consumerism and advertising, architecture and design, women's and gender studies, legal cases, labor history, psychology, and chemical and biological sciences.

Grading Policy

" Participation (includes attendance, homework, quizzes, and in-class exercises): 20% " Weekly writing exercises: 10% " 3-5 page analytical papers: 20% each " Final research paper: 30%

Texts

Mark Kurlansky, The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell Andrew Dorenburg and Karen Page, Dining Out: Secrets from Americas Leading Critics, Chefs, and Restaurateurs Course Packet

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