May 13, 2014
Chemistry + History = The History and Science of Food
The History and Science of Food was inspired by a fellowship to Italy that Dr. Kathleen A. Cornely, professor of chemistry, was awarded in 2012 to study food from a global perspective. She knew she wanted to teach the topic in a DWC colloquium, and Dr. D. Colin Jaundrill, assistant professor of history, offered to join her.
Cornely and Jaundrill structured the course as a dinner plate. They followed study of the protein (meat) with a complex carbohydrate (corn). Simple sugars were discussed in the context of the slave trade. When discussing fats, they held an olive-oil tasting.
“It’s one of the best classes I’ve taken at PC,” said Devon Cogan ’16 (Hull, Mass.). “The combination of history and science is a great balance. My major is marketing, and surprisingly we’ve discussed a fair amount of marketing concepts in class.”
“People don’t know how food has evolved or the chemistry that makes it so essential to the human body,” added Jeanine Justiniano ’16 (Providence, R.I.), a biology major. “We are learning what to eat and about food’s significance in different cultures. It was refreshing to see a colloquium I can relate to as a science major.”
