Teaching Talk by Dr. Grace Adeniyi Ogunyankin, Candidate for Assistant Professor in the Department of Global & International Studies

Date:
Tuesday, May 23, 2017 - 1:30pm to 2:00pm
Location:
Lecture Theatre - 7-150
Campus:
Prince George

The Department of Global & International Studies invites you to attend the following Teaching Talk:

Dr. Grace Adeniyi Ogunyankin, Candidate

Title: Food and Globalization
Dr. Grace Adeniyi Ogunyankin is 1 of 3 candidates for Assistant Professor in the Department of Global & International Studies.
The candidate will give a 30-minute mock lecture.
The following is an abstract of the candidate’s presentation:

You’re now a quinoa lover but your demand for it has turned a staple in Ecuador into an expensive food item. A Jamaican migrant farm labourer was recently denied health care after injury on the job in Ontario; he later succumbed to the injury. You’d rather pay more for French cuisine and grumble when “ethnic” food is more than $15. When you were in Shanghai, China you ordered your favourite meal from McDonald’s, KFC and Burger King quite often and visited Starbucks every morning. It’s wintertime and you’re eating oranges and strawberries. Your parents used to guilt you into eating your food when you were younger because, "there are people starving in Africa” -  now, you’re confused because Ethiopia is apparently China’s “breadbasket”.  You love reading food labels and you’re wondering why a product made in Germany has palm oil in it.  You’re surprised when you find out that Tex Mex is not authentic Mexican food.  You have to be extra careful with your grocery budget this month because the rise in fuel prices also means there’s a corresponding rise in food prices.

Food is definitely a complex topic.  We cannot think about food without thinking about the interconnectedness of the local and global. Moreover, we are increasingly confronted with the impact food consumption and production has on the environment. In our first of two lectures on Food and Globalization, we will explore why an understanding of history and the global political economy is useful for understanding producer/consumer power relations. We will also examine how food shapes our identity and our perceptions of the local and global “other”.

Everyone is welcome!

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