FRS 002T —
Sec. 001 —
(2 units) — CRN 76189 — W 6:10 - 9:00 pm — 3138 Meyer
Chocolate: Integrated Perspectives from the Humanities, Social
Sciences and Biological Sciences
Instructors: Carl Keen, Robert Rucker and Louis Grivetti, Department
of Nutrition, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
Description: This seminar will examine the history
and medical/dietary
uses of chocolate from antiquity through the 21st century. Readings
will include
a variety of publications that include ancient Aztec and Mayan
documents, 16th-19th
century medical/dietary accounts, and current scientific literature
on healthful
aspects of chocolate. The seminar will stress critical thinking and
will demonstrate
the integration of information available from the humanities, social sciences,
and biological/medical sciences, as applied to research questions. The goals of
the seminar are to 1) introduce participants to historical and
scientific resources
that document chocolate use through the ages; special attention will be given
to improving participant skills in using digitized database
resources; 2) Encourage
and develop critical thinking, deductive reasoning skills, and application of
scientific methods to chocolate-related research questions; 3) Demonstrate the
integration of social science and biological science approaches and
methods used
to investigate and solve key research questions; and 4) Develop and refine oral
presentation and writing skills.
Format: The seminar will continue for eight weeks.
During weeks
1-6, the seminar will meet once a week in the evenings for three
hours (6:00-9:00
PM). The first week of instruction will review course objectives/requirements,
background literature, and introduce the approaches, methods, and
techniques used
to identify and evaluate historical and scientific documents relating
to chocolate.
During weeks 2-6, the first hour will be spent in review and
discussion of assigned
papers; the second hour will be used to present selected examples
that illustrate
key issues, problems, methods in analysis or interpretation of
chocolate-related
data; the third hour will be used to discuss, integrate information, and draw
conclusions. During weeks 7-8 participants will meet for 2 hours to
present 10-minute
Power-Point and oral summaries of their research papers. No meeting
will be held
during week 9. During week 10, the instructors will host a
chocolate-tasting session,
followed by a pizza dinner for the seminar participants. Professional
colleagues
with direct knowledge of cacao botany, product manufacturing,
marketing, and political-ethical
considerations will be invited to make guest presentations (personnel and dates
to be determined). Grading: three criteria
will be used:
1) Contribution to discussion (20%); 2) Quality of oral presentation (30%); and
3) Style and content of written seminar paper (5-6 pages) (50%).
About the Instructors:
Louis Grivetti has been a Professor of Nutrition at UC Davis for more than 25
years. He teaches courses related to food and culture taking the approaches of
anthropology and geography. His interests include art of ancient Mediterranean
civilizations, the archaeology of ancient Egyptian and Classical
Greek food, and
family genealogy. His current research projects include study of
nutritional survival
during drought, especially in Africa; the historical development of
Mediterranean
diets; and the dietary/medicinal uses of chocolate through the ages.
Robert Rucker has been a Professor of Nutrition at UC Davis for over 30 years.
He teaches courses related to nutritional biochemistry and its
medical applications.
His interests cross the spectrum from the humanities to science, from enjoyment
of Classical music and modern art to laboratory experiments and
history of science.
His current research projects focus on biochemical mechanisms
important to explaining
nutritional relationships associated with normal human growth and development.
He also studies the health benefits of selected naturally occurring substances
in foods, among them chocolate.
Carl Keen has been a Professor of Nutrition at UC Davis for nearly 20 years and
currently is Chair of the Department of Nutrition. He teaches courses related
to the biology of human development and trace mineral nutrition. His interests
are broad, from Japanese art and symbolism of traditional ceremonial masks, to
contemporary current events. His recent research projects focus on
the importance
of trace minerals in human development, the biology and prevention of
human birth
defects, and the medicinal-biological properties of key foods, among
them chocolate.