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In order to approve a Bucknell University course towards the Food Systems minor, it must include one of the following objectives listed below.  We encourage faculty to consider adding these objectives as appropriate to their syllabi.  Please send syllabi for consideration to the Chair of the Food Systems Minor Coordinating Committee.

Objectives for courses to be listed in “Global Cultural Approaches to Food Systems”

In this course, students will investigate the myriad ways in which individuals, communities, and societies produce, distribute, and consume food.

In this course, students will gain a critical understanding of the role and meaning of food in historic and/or contemporary societies.

In this course, students will explore cuisine as a cultural practice, and reflect on aesthetics as well as ethics of consumption. 

Objectives for courses to be listed in “Applied Approaches to Food Systems”

In this course students will learn and/or apply scientific approaches to the production of plants or animals for consumption from one or more biological, ecological, or agricultural perspectives.

In this course students will consider the science and/or engineering behind nutrition, cooking, storing, fermenting, or otherwise processing food.

In this course students will consider the practical aspects of moving, distributing, or commoditizing food within the context of a global economic system.

Bucknell Independent Studies and Courses with major food-systems projects

Students may elect to count one Bucknell course towards the Food Systems minor as an independent study, or an advanced course for which they are completing a significant project on food systems even though the course as a whole is not approved for the minor.  The course must be taught at the 300-level or above.  A student may count only one such course towards the minor.  The course will not count as part of either list.

The student must provide the following to the Chair of the Food Systems Minor Coordinating Committee for consideration:

  1. The course syllabus;
  2. A description of the project to be undertaken, and how it relates to food systems;
  3. An email from the course instructor of the course explaining why their course should count towards the Food Systems minor for this student in this case.

From: Criteria for Approval of Courses for the Food Systems Minor, approved by vote of the Food Systems Minor Coordinating Committee on July 12, 2021.