Events & Calendars Info Session: Study Food Communities and Sustainability at the Siena School, Italy

Join Katie Phelan, instructor at the Siena School for Liberal Arts in Italy, for a short information session about Tuscan food culture and sustainability. The Siena School's Sustainability Track combines elements of food studies, anthropology, philosophy and geography. Interdisciplinary coursework offers a dynamic approach to complex environmental problems. Students in the program will critically explore global and local food production systems through issues as diverse as climate change, animal welfare and food security. It is the fundamental aim of the program to equip students with the critical skills necessary to make positive contributions to the urgent environmental challenges of today.

The Siena School Sustainability Track emphasizes the social and cultural aspects of sustainability as they pertain to our food systems and the wider environment. We take food and food culture as a starting point for our exploration-- as a way to both connect with our partners in the area and open up the complexities of the sustainability debate. By fostering a critical examination of the idea of sustainability, personal exploration and meaningful collaboration, it is our aim to inspire new and challenging notions of sustainability that have the power to shape the currents of change.

Katie will discuss the track's offerings and speak specifically about the course she instructs entitled "Consuming Ethics: Food, Community and Sustainability in Siena and Beyond." Students with interests in sustainability, environmental studies, human geography, anthropology and food studies are encouraged to attend.