Advanced university course in Food Studies and Gastronomy: : Food Through the Ages (2025 - 2026)

Objectives and competences

Objectives and competences

Objectives

General objectives:
- To acquire a holistic perspective of the global and local food system from the experience of the University of Barcelona.
- To study university-level subjects related to food, through a transdisciplinary approach, with the aim of accessing the reality of food
Catalan, Spanish and European cuisine and the culinary and gastronomic heritage of Catalonia and other Spanish regions from different perspectives, while at the same time
intercultural reflection and critical thinking is acquired.
Specific objectives:
- Be aware that, from the start of time, food has been associated with sustenance but also with pleasure.
- Understand how food has united families, nations and ethnic minorities and, in many aspects, has reflected the successes and tensions of a specific historical period.
- Review the history of food, starting from the first dishes created in magic rituals and the bacchanals of the classical world.
- To understand the transformations in palate that emerged as a result of exchanges of the "Old World" between Christian Europe, Islamic North Africa and Asia and the exchanges of the the "New World" as a result of discovering America
exchanges of the "New World" following the arrival of Europeans in America.
- Discover how the rise of haute cuisine in the Renaissance courts was supported by an imperial system that imported sugar from slave plantations and spices of
colonies and how an increasingly globalized food market accentuated the inequalities that caused overabundance and hunger.
- At the same time, to discover how food has become a source of comfort and a sign of identity for the immigrant population that has introduced some of the
more innovative cuisines, which has led to the creation of gastronomic "fusion" before it became fashionable.
- To gain knowledge on contemporary phenomena such as industrial food, fast food, haute cuisine worldwide and the emergence of the figure of world-renowned chef
a chef of great renown; all together, with a focus on Barcelona and the Mediterranean world.

Access and admission

Applicant profile and access requirements

Recommended applicant profile

- Students from educational institutions in the United States with an international agreement with specialized entities.
- Exceptionally, vacancies can be filled with national and international university students who accredit a B2 level of English at least

Access requirements and conditions

The course is also open to students with no prior university education, who will acquire the same knowledge and skills and receive a specific qualification for their learner group. Information on the access requirements and other conditions can be obtained from the course directors.

Pre-enrolment

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