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Our program begins in Santa Barbara, first highlighting our identity as industrial eaters in the local environment and food system. Our visits in Santa Barbara County will include the farmworker resource center, regenerative agriculture sites, and community gardens and kitchens. With paired readings and writing exercises to guide our local journey, you’ll refine your understanding of narrative and converse with the rich tradition of food writing.

We’ll then travel to Reykjavik, Iceland, where they have been harvesting renewable energy for over a century with little/no migrant farm labor. We’ll explore geothermal farms and bakeries and hike the Golden Circle.

Finally, we’ll make our way to Orvieto, Italy, and learn about Italy and their rich history and perspective on food systems, genetically modified foods, and industrialized agriculture and consumption. We’ll enjoy hands-on experiences through market tours, farm visits, and cooking classes, and then spend time crafting engaging narratives about all we’ve tried, tasted, seen, and learned.

• Class standing GPA (minimum 2.3 gpa for eligibility) 
• Application and essays 
• Personal and faculty recommendations 
• Interview with program directors 

In addition to the general qualifications above, the following are requirements that must be met, with or without reasonable accommodation, in order to complete all essential elements of the program. All participants must be able to: 

• Participate in regular communal meals based on a local diet and with limited control over food choices. In some locations, be prepared to participate in preparing and cleaning up after these meals. 
• Tolerate local diet with limited control over food choices in some locations. 
• Anticipate possible exposure to peanut or other food allergens. 
• Navigate multiple irregular surfaces and walk up to 5 miles a day, hike up to 5 miles with the group. 
• Navigate carrying personal items including suitcase and/or backpack without assistance. 
• Anticipate having sufficient emotional wellness to fully participate in the program safely and successfully despite the limited availability of frequent access to psychological services. 
• Anticipate at least double occupancy accommodations on some if not all locations.

Food Systems in Global Perspective (AN 140/KNS 150) Eating is a moral act. Yet, we rarely consider food’s path from the field to our fork. This course will examine food production and consumption systems practiced in cultures worldwide, as well as issues of nutrition and hunger, ethics of consumption, and environmental justice. Particular attention will be given to understanding how food production and distribution impacts poor communities locally and globally through investigating obesity rates, community food security, and the role of human dignity and labor justice within the food system. Our learning will be framed by tracing a tomato’s path from the micro to the macro level - from growth in the field to retail preparation and its impact on our bodies and the world.

Students will experience their role as consumers in the food movement firsthand through community-based learning experiences with local food-related organizations in Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, and Ojai, as well as innovations and sustainable agriculture in Iceland and Italy.

Particular attention will be given to studying and celebrating God’s greatest creation – the human body.  Consequently, texts chosen for this course attempt to highlight issues related to food systems and global health. At the same time, we will consider the issues within the context of Christian telos and praxis, gaining knowledge and then moving to responsive action--praxis.  Both cognitive and experiential/community learning techniques will be used throughout the course.

Our journey will explore the theological, sociological, economic, and political implications of food. It will include site visits to agricultural and production facilities and guest lecturers involved in public and global health. This course satisfies elective credit for KNS and AN, the Thinking Globally (TG), and the Serving Society general education requirement.

Writers In Conversation: Food Writing and Sustainability ((ENG 60) In “The Greatest Nature Essay Ever,” Brian Doyle writes that “stories do have roaring power, stories are the most crucial and necessary food, how come we never hardly say that out loud?” This Mayterm, we’ll say it out loud again and again as we nourish ourselves with literal food and narrative food. This course – and really this program – is a conversation. One that takes place across disciplines, across continents, across cultures. You get to be part of this conversation with the writers, workers, growers, and makers who are also part of it. Our hope is that you’ll take great joy in both food and stories, and you’ll find the fullness of this pleasure by developing an understanding of the world of food both on the page and on the plate.

Fitness in The Fields (PEA-034 Outdoor Education) This course gives the student basic level exposure to outdoor activities such as hiking local trails and beaches, exploring new/unfamiliar terrain, and gaining a deeper understanding about our relationship to the environment. Additionally, students will gain information about sustainability,  carbon footprints, growing food, and land stewardship.

Course Highlights

Field Assignments and Adapted Nature Journaling: We’ll spend some of our early on-campus days learning the art of nature journaling, but we’ll put our own spin on it as we marry this concept with food writing/reading/observation. This journal will capture your experiences, insights, reflections, prayers, drafts, and doodles. It will also serve as a valuable resource for your writing and provide a record of your journey.

Guest Speakers: Meet and hear from farmers, vintners, field workers, chefs, bakers, chocolatiers, and more. Learn from their experiences and gain valuable insights into the world of food systems, food writing, and, of course, eating.

Writing and Reading in Community: As we grow individually on this trip, we will also grow together. Your insights will inspire others and vice versa. Life, as we will see in myriad layers, is collaborative by nature. Therefore, you will collaborate on several of your projects this term. You’ll read aloud with others (or to animals).

Peer Feedback and Editing: Participate in peer review sessions to receive constructive feedback on your work and improve your writing through collaboration. Gain insight into different writing styles and perspectives from your fellow travelers.

Sensory Engagement: This course will require you to engage all of your senses. Come prepared to absorb the delicious food of story and nourish yourself physically and intellectually.

ENG-060 Writers in Conversation satisfies a requirement within the English major as "one course as an introduction to the major.” It also satisfies the Reading Imaginative Literature and Writing Intensive requirements in the general education curriculum.

Approx. $6750 (includes tuition, room, board, and in-country travel). Students are responsible for international airfare and additional transportation costs to LAX.