Teaching Beyond the Curriculum
Abstract
In the United States, more than 40% of the food grown goes to waste–often thrown out before it reaches the table. This means that every year, American consumers, businesses, and farms spend $218 billion a year growing, processing, transporting, and disposing 52 million tons of food that is never eaten–with an additional 10 million tons of food discarded or left unharvested on farms. Meanwhile, one in seven Americans is food insecure. This makes the issue of food waste in contemporary culture one of the most important points of intersection for social justice, food security, economic stability, environmental stewardship, public policy, and global trade. In this course, participants examined the issue of food waste and considered how to take action through learning about programs that are addressing food waste. They engaged in research and completed personal interviews, including opportunities to connect with activists in the local community. Participants learned to act deliberately, with clarity–and learned to listen, empathetically. Designers and Fine Artists are particularly well-positioned to approach this process of collaboration, negotiation, and inquiry. These complementary skill sets are the hallmarks of design thinking – and this course will strengthen the learners’ visioning, planning, and execution capabilities, as they explore and identify ways to have a positive impact in our communities at the intersection of food and health. This presentation and paper will provide insights for how this kind of course uniquely addresses the response to fixing the food system across disciplines.
Andi Sciacca is an Associate Professor at MIAD. She is ABD in her doctoral work with the European Graduate School and a former CCNY–CUNY Fellow in labor studies, literature, and cultural theory. She previously taught for The City University of New York, the State University of New York, Marist College, Bard College, The Global Center for Advanced Studies and The Culinary Institute of America–where she served as dean of faculty and instructional development and graduate curriculum director for the Food Business School.