SUSTAINABILITY, FOOD AND LANDSCAPES IN THE ITALIAN ALPS

Trentino, Italy, Summer 2017

Manola Corrent, M.A.

manola.corrent@dolomit-learning.it

En montagna l tt bon.
In the mountains everything tastes good.
(Trentino saying)

Course description

Food is an everyday experience that is deeply subjective and nourishes our

body and our souls; however, behind every single product, there is also a
long history, distinctive landscapes, socioeconomic forces and a whole world
of meanings. The course aims at unfolding the major processes behind what
we eat, and analyzes food procurement, production, processing, distribution
and consumption in its cultural, social and environmental implications.
The course combines interactive classwork and outdoor educational activities
in a cohesive program, tackling issues of global concern from the perspective
of the Italian Alps. Dynamic lectures are coupled with laboratories and visits
to local producers.
Topics include: the evolution of food systems across time and space; the
complex intersection of landscapes and agricultural practices; the impact on
the environment produced by different agricultural models and food
industries; meanings of food, heritage and identities; sustainable practices
and challenges in a fast-changing world.

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Course structure

The course is organized into eight lectures, five visits, and a residential lab in
a mountain guesthouse with three educational activities.
Each unit has a planned duration of three contact hours:
8 lectures, totaling 24 contact hours;
5 visits, totaling 15 contact hours;
3 educational activities, totaling 9 contact hours.
The course totals forty-eight contact hours, corresponding to three semester
credit hours.

Levels and evaluation

Students are required to write an original research paper on a specific topic

covered during the course: the instructor will assist the student to select the
subject by the end of the program, and will be available to provide additional
material and guidance.
Each analytic report consists in a two-page paper on one topic of choice
covered during the visits. The report is not limited to a description of the
sites explored, but also requires a more in-depth analysis of the subject,
supported by the assigned readings.
The group presentation takes place during the Villa Santi Nature House lab:
each student is in charge of one or more of the assigned readings, and
prepares a summary and a comment to share with the group.
Students are expected to complete all the readings assigned throughout the
course in a timley manner.

300-level
In-class participation 15%
First analytic report 15%
Group presentation 15%
Second analytic report 15%
Take-home exam

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Research paper 40%

Week 1 Introduction to food and environmental studies: definition

of key concepts; anthropological and archeological overview of
consumption and production systems; focus on the Alpine context

Lecture #1 Course presentation; definition of sustainability, environment,

food, landscape, and discussion on how they intersect.
Eden, S. (2009) Environment. In Rob Kitchin and Nigel Thrift (Eds.)
International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, (pp. 505-516),
Amsterdam (NL): Elsevier.
Fischer, N. (2012). Europe landscape, landscape history, and landscape
theory. In Ullrich Kockel, Mirad Nic Craith, and Jonas Frykman (Eds.) A
companion to the anthropology of Europe (pp. 322-333). Chichester
(UK): Blackwell.
Richard L. Lobb (2003) Food production, history of. In Solomon H. Katz
(Ed.) Encyclopedia of Food and Culture. Volume 2 (pp. 1-3), New York:
Charles Scribners Sons.
Hollander, G. (2006) Sustainable development. In Barney Warf (Ed.)
Encyclopedia of Human Geography (pp. 472-473), Thousands Oak (CA):
Sage.
Marsden, T. (2009) Sustainability. In Rob Kitchin and Nigel Thrift (Eds.)
International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, (pp. 103-108),
Amsterdam (NL): Elsevier.

Lecture #2 Overview of food production and consumption systems across

time and space, and their impact on human adaptation to different
environments.
Diamond, J. (1999). The worst mistake in the history of human race.
Retrieved from http://discovermagazine.com/1987/may/02-the-worst-
mistake-in-the-history-of-the-human-race.
Fussel, G. E. (2015). Origins of Agriculture. Retrieved from
http://www.britannica.com/topic/agriculture.

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 Smith L. M., Garvey R. and Carlson E.S (2014). Hunter-gatherers:
subsistence variation and intensification. In Claire Smith (Ed.)
Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, (pp. 3578-3586), New York:
Springer.

Lecture #3 Human-environment interactions and the shaping of the Alps.

Agnoletti, M. (2013). Trentino. In Mauro Agnoletti (Ed.) Italian Historical
Rural Landscape (pp. 247-254). Dordrecht (NL): Springer.
Barker, G. (1999). Hunting and farming in prehistoric Italy: changing
perspectives on landscape and society. Papers of the British School at
Rome, 67, 1-36.
Oetzi The Iceman. Retrieved from http://www.iceman.it/en/oetzi-the-
iceman.

Week 2 Agricultural and environmental systems: how food

production and consumption shape the landscape; natural resource
management; mountain agriculture

Visit #1: Guided visit to the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology and tzi
the Iceman in Bolzano, the capital city of Alto Adige / Sdtirol.

Visit #2: Guided visit to the science museum MuSe in Trento, the capital city
of Trentino.

Three-day lab at the Villa Santi Nature House; focus on mountain agriculture
and natural resource management; redaction of the first analytic report and
group presentation on the literature.
Battaglin, L. et al. (2014). Environmental sustainability of Alpine
livestock farms. Italian Journal of Animal Science, 13, 3155, 431-443.
Bednar-Friedl B., Behrens D. A., & Getzner M. (2011). Socioeconomics of
conservation in the Alps. In John G. Schmidt (Ed.), Alpine Environment:
Geology, Ecology and Conservation (pp. 135-155). New York: Nova
Science Publisher.

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 Casari M. (March 2007). Emergence of endogenous legal institutions:
property rights and community governance in the Italian Alps. The
Journal of Economic History, 67(1), 191-226.
Emanueli, F. and Agnoletti, M. (2016). History and traditional
management of Italian wood pastures. In Francesca Emanueli and Mauro
Agnoletti (Eds), Biocultural Diversity in Europe (pp. 141-153).
Switzerland: Springer.
Grasseni, C. (2011). Reinventing food: Alpine cheese in the age of global
heritage. Anthropology of Food, 8. Retrieved from
http://aof.revues.org/6819.
Previtali, F. (2011). Mountain anthroscapes, the case of the Italian Alps.
In S. Kapur et al. (Eds.), Sustainable Land Management (pp. 143-161),
Verlag Berlin Heidelberg: Springer.

Villa Santi Nature House is a 17th-century rural building, belonging to the Nature Park
Adamello Brenta (PNAB). It was recently renovated according to the principles of
sustainable architecture and received the LEED Gold certification. Its mission is to raise
ecological awareness, understand Alpine history and culture, and promote sustainable
practices. During the three-day, four-night stay in Villa Santi, the students take part to
three educational activities carried out with Dolomit and PNAB staff. Activity #1 is about
milk transformation, one of the most important sectors of mountain economy: students
learn how to produce butter and cheese, and experience it at first hand. Activity #2 is an
excursion to discover architecture and rural mountain life, with a visit to an ancient mill.
Activity #3 corresponds to the group presentation. Finally, during the stay at Villa Santi,
students also have time to redact their first analytic report.

Lecture #4 Comparative analysis of different agricultural systems and food

industries, and their impact in shaping landscapes and ways of life.
Hawkins, R. (2013). Food ethics. In Donald Sloan (Ed.), Food and Drink,
the Cultural Context (pp. 72-97). Oxford: Goodfellow Publisher.
Korthals, M. (2002). Globalization of the food production system. In
Michiel Korthals and Paul B. Thompson (Eds.), Before Dinner. Philosophy
and Ethics of Food (pp. 135-148). Dordrecht (NL): Springer.
Trang, C. (2003). Coffee. In Solomon H. Katz (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Food
and Culture. Volume 1 (pp. 429-434), New York: Scribner.

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 Lobb, Richard L. (2003). Oil. In Solomon H. Katz (Ed.) Encyclopedia of
Food and Culture. Volume 3 (pp. 5-8), New York: Scribner.

Visit #3 Guided tour and tastings at an olive oil mill and a coffee roasting
factory.

Week 3 Present and future of food and the environment: identities

and heritages; economy, best practices and sustainability; climate
change

Lecture #5 Food, identity and the role of agriculture in shaping Italian

regional cultures and landscapes.
Harper, D. & Faccioli P. (2009). Regionalism and national identity. In The
Italian Way. Food & Social Life (pp. 27-66), Chicago: University of
Chicago Press.
Helstosky, C. (2004). Epilogue: Food in Italy today. In Garlic and Oil.
Politics and Food in Italy (pp.155-165), Oxford: Berg.
Lugeri F. R. et al. (2011). Landscapes and wine production areas: a
geomorphological heritage. Geoheritage, 3, 221232.

Visit #4 Guided tour and tastings at a small family-run organic vineyard

and a major winegrower.

Second analytic report.

Lecture #6 Food and the economy; the Slow Food movement and short
food supply chains; food and tourism; systems of food and agriculture
certifications.
Buiatti S. (2011). Food and tourism: the role of the Slow Food
association. In Katia L. Sidali, Achim Spiller & Birgit Schulzer (Eds.),
Food, agri-culture and tourism. Linking local gastronomies and rural
tourism: interdisciplinary perspectives (pp. 92-101). Berlin Heidelberg:
Springer.

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 Larsson, T. (2015). The rise of the organic foods movement as a
transnational phenomenon. In Ronald J. Harring (Ed.), The Oxford
Handbook of Food, Politics, and Society (pp. 739-754). New York: Oxford
University Press.
Clough, E. (2015) The politics of food labeling and certification. In Ronald
J. Harring (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Food, Politics, and Society (pp.
615-638). New York: Oxford University Press.

Visit #5 Guided tour and tastings at an agritourism (farm holiday

enterprise).

Lecture #7 Paths to the future; climate change and the Alpine economy;
sustainable practices and environmental conflicts.
Bogataj, L. K. (2007). How will the Alps respond to climate change?
Scenarios for the future of Alpine water. Alpine Space - Man and the
Environment, 3, 43-50.
Bourdeau, P. (2009). Mountain tourism in a climate of change. Alpine
Space Man and the Environment, 3, 39-52.
Flury, C., Huber R. and Tasser, E. (2013) Future of mountain agriculture
in the Alps. In Stefan Mann (Ed.), The Future of Mountain Agriculture,
(pp. 105-123). Verlag Berlin Heidelberg: Springer.
Magnani, N. (2012). Exploring the local sustainability of a green
economy in Alpine communities: a case study of a conflict over a biogas
plant. Mountain Research and Development. Green Economy and
Livelihoods in Mountains, 32(2), 109-116.
Zucca, M. (2012). Sustainable livelihoods and gender in the marginal
Alpine communities of Trentino. In Wendy Harcourt (Ed.) Women
Reclaiming Sustainable Livelihoods: Spaces Lost, Spaces Gained, (pp.
191-212). Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave MacMillan.

Lecture #8 Recapitulation of the major themes and conclusions.

Take-home exam or Research paper.

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Reference books

Andrews, G. (2008). The Slow Food Story : Politics and Pleasure.

Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press.
Armiero, M. (2011). A Rugged Nation: Mountains and the Making of
Modern Italy. Cambridge: The White Horse Press.
Batzing, W. (2005) [1991] Le Alpi. Una Regione Unica al Centro
dellEuropa. Torino: Bollati Boringheri.
Batzing, W. (2000). Rapid Socio-Economic Assessment of the Alps Eco-
region. Retrieved from
http://alpsknowhow.cipra.org/main_topics/development_trends/pdfs/bae
tzing_2000.pdf.
Harper, D. & Faccioli P. (2009). The Italian Way. Food & Social Life.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Helstosky, C. (2004). Garlic and Oil. Politics and Food in Italy. Oxford:
Berg.
Scarpellini, E. (2016)[2012]. Food and Foodways in Italy from 1861 to
the Present. Palgrave MacMillan: New York.