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GE Pathway Minor in Food Studies

Pathway Coordinator: Sarah Pike, TRNT 231.

Food is not only fuel required to sustain us biologically, it functions symbolically and metaphorically, imparting meanings about who we are, about how we view our bodies, and about how we view our relationship to plants and other animals. While food is a commodity within economic markets, it is also a medium of cultural and political attitudes and beliefs, a way of expressing one's identity and cultural ties. While our system of food production can be thought of in practical terms such as professional occupations and careers in the food industry, decisions about how we produce and distribute our food also reflect culturally and historically specific values and beliefs, at the same time that they document shifts in knowledge and government policy. By examining and analyzing food practices from a multidisciplinary perspective, students explore the many roles that food plays in our lives-as sustenance, as expression of identity, as entertainment, as ritual, and as a means to bring people together in a community-and gain a better understanding of who we are, as individual consumers (or producers), as residents in a thriving agricultural region in Northern California, as Americans, and as global citizens.

Course Requirements for the Minor: 18 units

To earn an interdisciplinary Pathway Minor in this field of study, candidates must complete nine lower-division units and nine upper-division units from the courses listed below.

Lower Division

Foundation Associations

1 course selected from:

SUBJ NUM Title Sustainable Units Semester Offered Course Flags
Designed specifically for non-majors. Emphasis on broad biological principles, as illustrated by plants, and the economic importance and role of plants in human ecology. 2 hours lecture, 3 hours laboratory. This is an approved General Education course. (001119)
Prerequisites: High school biology, chemistry, or physics is recommended.
This course is a survey of the basic processes that determine flows of energy through the atmosphere and examines the subsequent interactions among water, landforms, soil, and vegetation that create and modify the surface of the earth. Students develop a recognition of landscape patterns, as well as an understanding of the physical, chemical, and biological principles and functions that create those patterns, in order to understand the natural environment in which we live and the role of humans affecting that environment. 2 hours lecture, 2 hours activity.This is an approved Writing Intensive course. This is an approved General Education course. Formerly GEOG 101. (003857)
Earth materials, processes, and history, and their significance to humankind. No college credit for students who have passed GEOS 102. 2 hours lecture, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (004067)
Plant structure, growth, reproduction, and responses to the environment. How humans modify plants and the environment to grow crops. 2 hours lecture, 3 hours laboratory. This is an approved General Education course. (007765)

Arts (C1)

1 course selected from:

SUBJ NUM Title Sustainable Units Semester Offered Course Flags
This course explores themes about food in international cinema, with special attention to the social, cultural and historical contex for food as depicted in film, the cultural issues regarding national, ethnic and gender identity, and how the art and history of cinema have presented the many roles that food plays in our lives. 2 hours discussion, 3 hours laboratory.This is an approved Writing Intensive course. This is an approved General Education course. Formerly HUMN 281. (021204)

Humanities (C2)

1 course selected from:

SUBJ NUM Title Sustainable Units Semester Offered Course Flags
Introduction to Arabic language and culture. Emphasis is on the fundamental skills of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing Arabic. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (020747)
Prerequisites: ARAB 101A.
Continuation of ARAB 101A. Emphasis is on the fundamental skills of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing Arabic. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (020748)
Prerequisites: ARAB 102A.
Students review and expand language skills and cultural concepts introduced in ARAB 101A and ARAB 102A. This course includes composition and reading. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (020749)
Prerequisite: ARAB 201.
Students review and expand language skills and cultureal concepts introduced in ARAB 101A, ARAB 102A, and ARAB 201. This course includes composition and reading. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (020750)
Introduction to Chinese language and Culture. Emphasis is on the fundamental skills of understanding, speaking, reading and writing Chinese. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (020752)
Prerequisites: CHNS 101A.
Continuation of CHNS 101A. Emphasis is on the fundamental skills of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing Chinese. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (020753)
Prerequisites: CHNS 102A.
Students review and expand language skills and cultural concepts introduced in CHNS 101A and CHNS 102A. This course includes composition and reading. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (020754)
Prerequisites: CHNS 201.
Students review and expand language skills and cultural concepts introduced in CHNS 101A, CHNS 102A, and CHNS 201. This course includes composition and reading. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (020755)
Using a conversational approach, this course will provide students with a foundation of expressive and receptive skills in American Sign Language. Cultural aspects of the deaf community, such as history, education, language arts, and pragmatics will be explored. Additionally, lectures will provide information on hearing loss and comparison of sign language systems. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. (002142)
The beginning course is taught using a conversational approach. Students acquire knowledge about cultural and linguistic aspects of deafness and ASL, as well as attain receptive and expressive skills that will enable them to communicate with individuals using ASL. 3 hours lecture. You may take this course more than once for a maximum of 6.0 units. This is an approved General Education course. (002149)
Prerequisites: CMSD 128 or CMSD 256 or faculty permission.
Continuation of ASL I (CMSD 256). Much of the course is conducted in sign, with the exception of some lectures presented with voice on cultural and linguistic aspects of the Deaf. 3 hours discussion. You may take this course more than once for a maximum of 6.0 units. This is an approved General Education course. (002150)
Intensive practice and analytical study in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Focus on American culture, supplemented by selected reading in various academic disciplines. This course is open to international and resident students who have lived most of their lives in a non-English-speaking country. 3 hours discussion. This is an approved General Education course. (003377)

Note: EFLN 170 is for international students for whom English is a foreign language.

SUBJ NUM Title Sustainable Units Semester Offered Course Flags
Introduction to French language and culture. Emphasis on the fundamental skills of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing French. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (003787)
Prerequisites: FREN 101 or equivalent.
Continuation of FREN 101. Emphasis on the fundamental skills of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing French. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (003792)
Prerequisites: FREN 102 or equivalent.
Reviewing and expanding of language skills and cultural concepts introduced in FREN 101 and FREN 102. This course includes composition and reading. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (003795)
Prerequisites: FREN 201 or equivalent.
Reviewing and expanding of language skills and cultural concepts introduced in FREN 101, FREN 102, and FREN 201. This course includes composition and reading. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (003794)
Introduction to German language and culture. Emphasis on the fundamental skills of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing German. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (004199)
Prerequisites: GERM 101 or equivalent.
Continuation of GERM 101. Emphasis on the fundamental skills of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing German. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (004201)
Prerequisites: GERM 102 or equivalent.
Reviewing and expanding of language skills and cultural concepts introduced in GERM 101 and GERM 102. This course includes composition and reading. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (004204)
Prerequisites: GERM 201 or equivalent.
Reviewing and expanding of language skills and cultural concepts introduced in GERM 101, GERM 102, and GERM 201. This course includes composition and reading. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (004203)
Introduction to the ancient Greek language and culture. Emphasis is on the fundamental skills of reading, pronunciation, and composition in ancient Greek. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (020745)
Continuation of GREK 101. Emphasis is on the fundamental skills of reading, pronunciation, and composition of ancient Greek. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (020746)
Introduction to the Modern Hebrew language and culture. Emphasis is on the fundamental skills of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing Modern Hebrew. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (020724)
Continuation of HBRW 101A. Emphasis is on the fundamental skills of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing Modern Hebrew. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (020725)
Introduction to Italian language and culture. Emphasis on the fundamental skills of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing Italian. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (005088)
Prerequisites: ITAL 101 or equivalent.
Continuation of ITAL 101. Emphasis on the fundamental skills of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing Italian. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (005090)
Prerequisites: ITAL 102 or equivalent.
Reviewing and expanding of language skills and cultural concepts introduced in ITAL 101 and ITAL 102. This course includes composition and reading. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (005093)
Prerequisites: ITAL 201 or equivalent.
Reviewing and expanding of language skills and cultural concepts introduced in ITAL 101, ITAL 102, and ITAL 201. This course includes composition and reading. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (005092)
Introduction to the Japanese language and culture. Emphasis on the development of fundamental skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing with clear understanding of basic sentence structures. Acquisition of Hiragana and Katakana characters (phonetic symbols). 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (005334)
Prerequisites: JAPN 101 or faculty permission.
Continuation of JAPN 101. Special attention to different verb forms and essential auxiliary expressions. Appropriate language use in a variety of social settings. Acquisition of 110 Kanji characters (ideographic symbols). 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (005335)
Prerequisites: JAPN 102 or faculty permission.
Review of major grammatical structures and further development of the student's cultural awareness and proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing Japanese. Special attention to logical discourse development. Acquisition of 200 Kanji characters (ideographic symbols). 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (005336)
Prerequisites: JAPN 201 or faculty permission.
Continuation of review of major grammatical structures and further development of the student's cultural awareness and proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing Japanese. Special attention to refining and expanding discourse. Acquisition of 300 Kanji characters (ideographic symbols). 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (005337)
Introduction to the Latin language and culture. Emphasis on the fundamental skills of reading, pronunciation and composition of Latin. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (005390)
Continuation of LATN 101. Emphasis is on the fundamental skills of reading, pronunciation, and composition in Latin. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (020732)
A critical survey of different theories of happiness and meaning in life, including discussion of the roles of moral values, mental health, art, music, and food and drink in living well. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. (007163)
Introduction to Portuguese language and its associated cultures. Emphasis on the fundamental skills of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing Portuguese. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (007752)
Prerequisites: PORT 101A.
Continuation of PORT 101A. Emphasis on the fundamental skills of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing Portuguese. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (007754)
What is religion? How do we recognize it? Are there functions religions characteristically serve or questions they characteristically ask? Are there characteristic answers? Are there secular religions? How do various cultures approach the category of "religion"? This course explores diverse religious beliefs and practices in light of classic and contemporary analyses from several disciplinary fields. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. (008130)
Introduction to Russian language and its associated cultures. Emphasis on the fundamental skills of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing Russian. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (008916)
Prerequisites: RUSS 101A.
Continuation of RUSS 101A. Emphasis on the fundamental skills of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing Russian. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (008920)
Prerequisites: SPAN 101 is not available for credit to students with two or more years of Spanish within the last three years.
Introduction to Spanish language and culture. Emphasis on the fundamental skills of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing Spanish. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (009113)
Prerequisites: SPAN 101 or equivalent.
Continuation of SPAN 101. Emphasis on the fundamental skills of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing Spanish. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (009118)
Prerequisites: SPAN 102 or equivalent.
Reviewing and expanding of language skills and cultural concepts introduced in SPAN 101 and SPAN 102. This course includes composition and reading. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (009121)
Prerequisites: Faculty permission.
Reviewing and expanding of language skills possessed by speakers of Spanish who have not studied the language formally. This course includes composition and reading. Particular focus on the Mexican-American/Latino experience. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (009123)
Prerequisites: SPAN 201 or equivalent.
Reviewing and expanding of language skills and cultural concepts introduced in SPAN 101, SPAN 102, and SPAN 201. This course includes composition and reading. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (009120)
Prerequisites: Faculty permission.
Further reviewing and expanding of language skills possessed by speakers of Spanish who have not studied the language formally. Builds on topics studied in SPAN 201N. This course includes composition and reading. Particular focus on the Mexican-American/Latino experience. 3 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. (009126)

Individual and Society (D1)

1 course selected from:

SUBJ NUM Title Sustainable Units Semester Offered Course Flags
The role of agricultural business in the economy. Introductory economic and business principles and their application to the solution of agricultural problems. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. (000014)
Examination of social and cultural influences on emotional, social, and intellectual development. Specific emphasis on children raised in lower socio-economic environments as well as children of American Indian, Mexican-American, and black cultures. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. (007889)
This course helps organize thinking about societies in general, the society we inhabit, and our place within it. Underlying questions are: Why do people have different values? Why do people act differently? Why is there inequality? And why and how does society; its values and norms, institutions, and groups influence our behavior. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. (008933)

Societal Institutions (D2)

1 course selected from:

SUBJ NUM Title Sustainable Units Semester Offered Course Flags
Significant events in mankind's prehistoric cultural development and their relevance to the present. Human antiquity; the acquisition of culture during the Paleolithic; the beginning of early civilization. Introduction to the methods of archaeology and human paleontology. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Global Cultures course. (000491)
A non-technical introduction to economics with coverage of both microeconomics and macroeconomics. Overview of the evolution of economic concepts and ideas. Application of economics to current problems such as inflation, unemployment, the financial sector, the economics of regulation, market imperfections, environmental problems, and international economics. Consumer decision making and different market models are included. (Can be substituted for ECON 102 in the major if students also take ECON 330 as one of their 300-level electives.) 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. (002635)
Broad overview of spatial and temporal changes in the California landscape resulting from the interaction of various cultural groups with their environment. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved US Diversity course. (003860)

Lifelong Learning (E)

1 course selected from:

SUBJ NUM Title Sustainable Units Semester Offered Course Flags
Physiological, social, and psychological factors affecting food intake are examined, as well as relationships of nutrients to health throughout life. Sustainable food practices are explored. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. (004273)
Introduction to concepts and problems in psychology. Topics include perception, learning, development, motivation, personality, abnormal behavior, and biological and social bases of behavior. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. (007881)

Upper Division

Natural Sciences

1 course selected from:

SUBJ NUM Title Sustainable Units Semester Offered Course Flags
Focuses on the relation between natural geological factors, food production, and health problems in humans and animals on a global scale, and explores the impacts of diverse proposed solutions on population health and public policy. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. (021128)
This course examines the relationships among human dietary patterns, human biology, and societies. Topics covered include the prevalence of hunger and malnutrition, factors contributing to malnutrition, and the ecology of obesity and chronic diseases in both developing and industrialized nations. Inter-relationships between food systems and major chronic diseases affecting the world population are also examined. Special attention is given to a critical analysis of the biological, environmental and socio-cultural determinants of nutrition-related issues around the world and strategies for addressing those issues. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Global Cultures course. (020508)
How ecological factors, technology, and human values interact to determine available choices of food and its production. Consequences of these choices in terms of community structures, resource allocations, and stability of agro-ecosystems. This course is designed to be a component of the Upper-Division Theme on Cross-Cultural Exploration. Not intended for majors, but open to them. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Global Cultures course. (004874)
A study and analysis of various world agriculture systems that provide food and fiber. Environmental, technological, socio-economic, and political factors. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Global Cultures course. (000068)

Arts/Humanities

1 course selected from:

SUBJ NUM Title Sustainable Units Semester Offered Course Flags
History of the attitudes, concepts, and public policy toward the American environment, including the natural, rural, and urban environments. Emphasis on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved US Diversity course. (004539)
This course is also offered as RELS 339I.
Draws on religion, philosophy, ethics, cultural analysis, and science to explore the nature and roles of the animal in religious, cultural, scientific, and ethical beliefs and practices. 3 hours lecture.This is an approved Writing Intensive course. This is an approved General Education Capstone course. Formerly PHIL 339. (021122)
This course is also offered as PHIL 339I.
Draws on religion, philosophy, ethics, cultural analysis, and science to explore the nature and roles of the animal in religious, cultural, scientific, and ethical beliefs and practices. 3 hours lecture.This is an approved Writing Intensive course. This is an approved General Education Capstone course. Formerly RELS 339. (021122)

Social Sciences

1 course selected from:

SUBJ NUM Title Sustainable Units Semester Offered Course Flags
A study of agricultural problems and policies of developing nations. Emphasis on cultural values; physical, economic, and political constraints; hunger and international trade. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Global Cultures course. (015535)
This course examines the social and cultural contexts of food production and consumption in a cross-cultural, global and historical perspective, including contemporary social, environmental and policy issues associated with food. 3 hours lecture.This is an approved Writing Intensive course. This is an approved General Education Capstone course. This is an approved Global Cultures course. Formerly ANTH 340. (020625)
Catalog Cycle:12