Would you be interested in taking a course on the novels of Stephen King, how psychology relates to eating and drinking or about the choices we make in choosing the food we eat?
This semester, an English course focusing on Stephen King and his novels, a psychology course focusing ingestive behavior and a political science course on the politics of food will entice students' minds and encourage them to think deeper.
Clotilde Landais, a visiting assistant professor of French and literature, said she has been studying King's work since her time in graduate school and has a book that will be published this spring about King.
"I have been working on fantastic fiction in general and on Stephen King in particular since my graduate studies," Landais said. "It is one of my fields of expertise and I have written a number of articles on King’s works. I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to develop this course."
Landais also said students in that course, Comparative Literature 230, will be surprised to know how much of King's novels relate to modern society.
"King’s novels are deeply anchored in the American society. His stories offer a reflection on many societal issues, ranging from the judiciary system, through violence towards children and women, to America’s traumas such as Vietnam and 9/11," Landais said. "Beyond supernatural creatures, King depicts our contemporary society with vivid accuracy and a great sense of details in the Faulkner or Twain traditions."
A psychology course on human ingestive behavior, Psychology 392, may have students thinking of biology and human anatomy, but Susan Swithers, a professor of psychology, said eating and drinking have a lot to do with the field.
"Psychology is heavily involved in influencing intake of food and beverages," Swithers said, "and we will be considering how a variety of factors, including learning experience, social interactions and brain activity affect our decisions about what we choose to eat, when we eat it and how much we consume."
The politics of food course, Political Science 429, might have students wondering why such a topic is important.
Patricia Boling, an associate professor of political science, said with a couple of guest speakers coming in and through interesting discussions, she hopes to bring light to this timely topic.
"Food politics is about the issues surrounding what we eat, how we produce it, who has access to good food and who doesn't, the role of poor countries in feeding wealthy ones, the impact of agriculture on the environment, and more," Boling said. "It's important because everyone has to eat, and food is a central source of pleasure and meaning as well as simply fueling our bodies."
Boling also said with harsh economic times the country has been through, it will be interesting to see what her students think about what they choose and do not choose to eat.
"In our society, we've managed to industrialize food and reduce it to a lowest common denominator that is epitomized by McDonald's and bulging waistlines," Boling said. "Figuring out how we can produce good food affordably and justly is a huge question for us today."
So Stephen King *is* literature?
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Originally Posted by ChristineB
