Food, Sustainability, & Environmental Studies

The program in Food, Sustainability, & the Environment (FSE) at Umbra invites students and professors to participate in the study of food systems, sustainability and the environment. Whether enrolling in semester or summer courses, interning in a winery, or discovering the complexities of Italian food culture and environmental policy, FSE students develop a deeper understanding of global food systems, sustainability, and the environment.

The Program in Food, Sustainability, & Environment

The Program in Food, Sustainability, & Environment (FSE) offers 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.

This program includes a series of co- and extracurricular 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.

Certificate Program Curriculum

Students who successfully complete the program receive a Certificate in Food, Sustainability & Environment from the Umbra Institute. To earn the certificate, participants must:

• Complete the 1-credit core course (FSST/ENV/SUST 300: Experiencing Sustainable Italian Foodways)
• Choose at least three electives (10 credits total) from the list below
• Take the required 4-credit Italian language course (offered in addition to the FSE curriculum)

Altogether, students finish the semester with 14 credits.

Students interested both in the FSE and an independent research project may combine the FSE and Scholars Program curricula to create their own academic path. This option has limited availability so it is important that all interested students contact their ISI Abroad – Umbra Institute admissions advisor early to begin planning for their semester abroad. All independent studies or research projects must be approved at least four months beforehand by the Umbra Director and the FSE Chair; this process begins with a completed proposal form.

Many students have received credit for their major for their FSE coursework. Contact the ISI Abroad office or the Director of The Umbra Institute, Zachary Nowak ([email protected]) for more information. For those students interested in possible graduate work: part of the program’s co-curricular offerings is an optional workshop “How To Get Into Grad School.”

Institutional Research

While teaching is central to the Institute’s mission, research serves both didactic and professional goals. Recent faculty research has included a a chapter on female winemakers in Italy, an edited collection on representations of Italian food, and an analysis of the Italian agro-alimentary market for Chinese companies. Current projects include a monograph on Italian women vintners making natural wine and an article exploring Umbrian food traditions invented after the Second World War. This research not only keeps the faculty actively involved with academic discussions on food and the environment but also provides readings for courses and opportunities for students to engage in faculty projects.

The Institute 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 food conference and the Association for the Study of Food & Society. Two FSE students have won awards for their research in Perugia from the Society for the Anthropology of Food and Nutrition and the Forum on International Education.

Program Goals

These program goals are the outcome of a rigorous process undertaken by the FSE program faculty, involving systematic reflection on the program as a whole, grounded in their individual courses and disciplinary perspectives on the subject.

Furthermore, the formulation of the Program Goals was guided by and aligned with the principles of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).

All students completing the program in Food, Sustainability, & the Environment will:

1. Study various natural and human systems from a combination of different perspectives (historical, anthropological, ecological, aesthetic, religious, political, legal, economic, marketing, and gender), framing them within a solid theoretical framework. 
2. Apply academic and critical thinking skills to understand how these natural and human systems are impacted by local, national, and international politics and economies. 
3. Recognize the global interconnectedness of these systems, while also understanding their unique histories and current trajectories in Italy. 
4. Evaluate the concept of sustainability–whether environmental, economic, and social– as it is applied to local food systems, mission-driven businesses, and other ecosystems by diverse actors. 
5. Engage in community-based projects and co-curricular field experiences involving local producers, entrepreneurs, and primary stakeholders, that connect classroom learning to real-world problem-solving. 
6. Identify possible responses within these human and natural systems to the challenges of the future, including climate change and other forms of environmental degradation; environmental and food disparities because of race, gender, and ethnicity; and food insecurity. 
7. Understand how to leverage the skills learned in the classroom and through hands-on experiences during the semester as students pursue graduate study and/or seek to advance their career goals.