ANE 170 / HDS 1442 – Food , Identity and the Biblical World

ANE 170 / HDS 1442 – Food , Identity and the Biblical World

Semester: Fall
Offered: 2024
Instructor: Julia Rhyder
Meeting Time: M 12:00pm-2:00pm

How did ancient people decide what to eat, and what not to eat? And why do the ancient texts of the Bible continue to shape the way many people think about diet and identity today? This course will explore the importance of diet in establishing social bonds and ethnic boundaries in the ancient Near East, as well as the role food played in mediating relationships with God, animals, and the environment. The course will be highly interactive. We will visit the Museum of Fine Arts to see how food featured as part of burial rituals in ancient Egypt; we will explore the archaeology of food and everyday life at the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East; and we will even try cooking some ancient recipes together. Students will also be introduced to anthropological approaches to food, diets, and commensality, and learn to reflect critically on how such theoretical lenses might be applied to the study of ancient dietary patterns and contemporary religious practice. No prior knowledge of the Bible or ancient history required.

Offered jointly with Harvard Divinity School as HDS 1442

For more details please visit the Harvard Course Catalog.