ABOUT THE CENTER
The Center for Food & Sustainability Studies (CFSS) invites students and professors to participate in the study of food systems, sustainability and the environment. Whether completing the Certificate in Food & Sustainability Studies, enrolling in semester or summer CFSS courses, working on independent research, participating in the biannual Food Conference, or leading a group of students to discover the complexities of Italian food culture, the Center engages with scholars, professors, and students at any level of their career seeking to develop a deeper understanding of global food systems, sustainability, and the environment.
Certificate Curriculum | Semester & Summer Courses
Research | Food Conference | Administration & Faculty
Alumni & Application | Didactic Kitchen
THE FOOD & SUSTAINABILITY STUDIES PROGRAM (FSSP)
The FSSP is a semester-long, interdisciplinary certificate program open to all students with an interest in food, sustainability and the environment. It is particularly well-suited to those hoping to cultivate a career in the food or environmental industries or seeking to continue their education at the graduate level. There are three tracks: Food Studies, Environmental Studies & Sustainability, and the dual track. For each track, students take an Italian class, the 1-credit core course, and then choose three or four other FSSP courses.
Each thematic course includes a series of co- and extra-curricular activities that are an integral part of the curriculum; they include guest lectures, site visits, field trips, culinary activities, research projects, and other hands-on experiences. These activities allow students to directly observe the concepts studied in the classroom and analyze issues surrounding food, sustainability and the environment in an Italian and global context from varied perspectives.
OPTIONAL CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION
All students who successfully complete the Semester Food & Sustainability Studies Program and meet the certification requirements will receive a certificate of completion from the Umbra Institute.
CERTIFICATE PROGRAM
The Center offers food-related internships and a certificate program in the following three curricular tracks:
CERTIFICATE IN FOOD STUDIES
For the Certificate in Food Studies, students would take a 4 credit Italian class and then have the following curriculum:
Core Course: FSST 100: Experiencing Sustainable Italian Foodways (1 credit)
Choose any three or more from the following elective courses:
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- ANTH/FSST/SOC 375: The Anthropology of Food and Eating: Understanding Self and Others (3 credits)
- COMM/BUS/FSST 355: Digital Marketing: Wine and Wineries of Central Italy (3 credits)
- ENV/FSST/SOC 330: Sustainable Food Production in Italy: Local Traditions and Global Transformations (3 credits)
- FSST/GSCI 250: The Science of Italian Food (3 credits)
- FSST/HIST/SOC 350: The History and Culture of Food in Italy (3 credits)
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES & SUSTAINABILITY
For the Certificate in Environmental Studies & Sustainability, students would take a 4 credit Italian class and then have the following curriculum:
Core Course: FSST 100: Experiencing Sustainable Italian Foodways (1 credit)
Choose any three or more from the following elective courses:
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- BUS/ENV 340: Global Sustainable Business (3 credits) – starting in Fall 2020
- BUS/ENV 365: Tourism for Sustainable Development: Italian and Global Models (3 credits)
- ENV/FSST/SOC 320: Water Resources: Environment, Society, and Power (3 credits)
- ENV/FSST/SOC 330: Sustainable Food Production in Italy: Local Traditions and Global Transformations (3 credits)
- ENV/GSCI/SOC 355: Towards Green Cities: Local and Global Perspectives (3 credits)
DUAL CONCENTRATION IN FOOD, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND SUSTAINABILITY STUDIES
Students can complete a dual concentration by completing a 4 credit Italian class, FSST 100, as well as two elective courses in food studies and two courses in environmental studies and sustainability.
Program activities include:
– Weekend field trip to Modena and Parma to see balsamic vinegar, Parmesan cheese, and prosciutto production facilities;
– Visit to FICO Eataly World Bologna with tour and tasting lunch;
– Workshops with local experts, topics may include Italian-style coffee, microbrewery beer, wine, & Italian aperitivo;
– Italian cooking classes in Umbra’s Didactic Kitchen;
– Visits to local farm-to-table and Fair Trade restaurants;
– Hands-on experience in Umbra’s Didactic Garden;
– Day trips to Dario Cecchini the Tuscan butcher (Panzano in Chianti);
– Truffle hunting in the Apennine Mountains;
– Welcome and farewell dinners.
Fees do not include: Transatlantic airfare, personal expenses, meals, or travel fees for elective courses beyond the program requirements.
Food & Sustainability Conference
Since 2012, the Umbra Institute has hosted a biennial food conference in Perugia. Past keynotes have included Ken Albala, Massimo Montanari, Rachel Black, Kolleen Guy, Amy Trubek, Simone Cinotto, Molly Anderson, Alice Julier, Lisa Heldke, Michael Herzfeld, and John Lang. Some of the contributions to the first conference have been published as Representing Italy Through Food (Bloomsbury, 2017), edited by Peter Naccarato, Zachary Nowak, and Elgin K. Eckert.
The fifth edition of the conference will be held June 11th-14th, 2020. Stay tuned for the Call for Papers.
Conference Website
Scholars Program
This unique program takes qualified students’ academic experience one step further. Not only do they participate fully in the Food & Sustainability Studies Program, which includes a rich complement of co-curricular activities, workshops and field trips, but students will also pursue an original independent research project. As always, the Scholars Program Coordinator will provide assistance and guidance in defining the research project, assigning a faculty mentor, and selecting the complimentary courses that best fit the students needs as you make the most of their study abroad experience.
ADVISORY BOARD
The Umbra staff of the Center for Food & Sustainability Studies are advised by a eight-member board of academics whose research is in the field of food studies. These board members assist in curriculum development and strategic planning. The members are:
Zachary Nowak, PhD—Harvard University (chair)
Alice Julier, PhD—Chatham University
Peter Naccarato, PhD—Marymount Manhattan College
Joyce Chaplin, PhD—Harvard University
Chris Fink, PhD—Ohio Wesleyan University
Michael Di Giovine, PhD—West Chester University
Elgin Eckert, PhD—The Umbra Institute
Elisa Ascione, PhD—The Umbra Institute
INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH
While teaching is central to the Center’s mission, research serves both didactic and professional goals.
Recent faculty research has included a monograph on the food businesses of Italian emigrants in Belgium, an edited collection on representations of Italian food, a critical analysis of the meaning of heritage in food, and a handbook for Italian winemakers looking to export to the United States. Current projects include a monograph on Italian sagre, an article exploring the absence of the enologist’s laboratory in the discourse about food landscapes, and anthropological research on fisherfolk’s perceptions of fish in Lago Trasimeno. This research not only keeps the CFSS faculty actively involved with academic discussions on food, but also provides readings for courses and opportunities for students to engage in faculty projects.
The Center also promotes student research through faculty-led independent study projects or the more intensive semester-long Scholars Program. A recent student project on the Italian aversion to taking food home from restaurants led to a three year-long community engagement project with the City of Perugia known as RepEAT, designed to promote doggie bags in the city’s restaurants. Students have also presented their research several times at both the biennial CFSS food conference and the Association for the Study of Food & Society. Two FSSP students recently won awards for their research in Perugia from the Society for the Anthropology of Food and Nutrition and the Forum on International Education.
Ongoing Research Project
The Center is currently creating a long-term institutional research project in collaboration with the City of Perugia and the Region of Umbria. This five-year project will also develop an online wiki of Umbrian foods and foodways. Umbra students will contribute text, photographs, interviews, and video to the first bilingual archive of its type.
OUR DIDACTIC KITCHEN
The Center’s didactic kitchen, located in the Institute, is the ideal venue to explore food chemistry as well as to provide students with hands-on, non-credit-bearing activities that compliment their classroom studies. Click here to learn more about what can be discovered through Umbra’s co- and extra-curricular cooking and tasting activities.
Photo Gallery
Ask former students
Over 160 students have completed the FSSP since it was first offered in 2011. Feel free to contact some of these students about their experiences while living in Perugia and studying food and sustainability at the Umbra Institute.
APPLY NOW
The Umbra Institute is a recognized and approved study abroad program for hundreds of colleges and universities. If you’re ready to begin your journey through food studies, start this easy online application.
ALUMNI OPPORTUNITIES
Thinking about a food-related career or graduate study after you finish college? The Center has developed a number of strategic partnerships with universities and food-related organizations in the US and Italy. Click the button below to learn more.
ALUMNI OPPORTUNITIES