 
Spend a semester living in one of Spain's most beautiful, historic, and dynamic cities.
Alongside learning the Spanish language from the experienced teachers, students will receive instruction in gastronomy,
food history and culture, working closely with resident faculty and local experts. By the end of the Granada Semester,
students will have a knowledge of Western civilization through the perspective of food, wine, & agriculture. They will
understand how the production and consumption of food & drink relate to society, economy, and culture both in the present
day and throughout history. A special focus of the Granada semester is Mediterranean food culture, and numerous field
trips to food markets, vineyards, and restaurants combined with culinary arts classes will give students irreplaceable first-hand
experiences. Each participant in the Granada Semester will come away with a sophisticated knowledge of Mediterranean cuisine
& wine, artisanal foods and farm products, and the savoire-faire demanded by today's cosmopolitan society
and economy. The City of Granada and its surroundings province make for an unsurpassed location. Gastronomy
and language classes are held in the upper Albaycin neighborhood, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site that also encompasses
the Alhambra Palace. Granada Province is the most geophysically diverse in Spain, running from the Costa Tropical to the Sierra
Nevada mountains. The area has a classic Mediterranean climate and food tradition, is home to expansive olive groves as well
as the highest viticultural area in Europe. While there are now several study programs in gastronomy worldwide,
there are few programs that ground the intellectual pursuit of food within its cultural context with practical experience
on the farm, in the food market, and at the stove. The Institute of Sustainable Gastronomy program will give students both
the tools to think critically about food within human civilization and also elevate the quality of food production, journalism,
food promotion, and tourism in today's marketplace. The entire context of the semester program will emphasize sustainable
solutions and understandings of culinary and wine production within the contemporary context of both Western Europe and North
America. The Granada Semester takes place in classroom and kitchen facilities in the historic Albaycin district,
near the Alhambra Palace; arranged homestays or assistance with housing is provided for all students. Spanish language instruction
forms an integral part of the program, using a well-respected language education partner, the Escuela Carmen de las Cuevas. The
Granada Semester is offered to students as a stand-alone "semester abroad" program, given sufficient Spanish-language
proficiency. The Institiute would be happy to discuss credit for the program with any university or college. THE
CLASSES
3 hours a day of intensive Spanish language classes from the experienced native instructors of the
Escuela. 10-12 hours of afternoon gastronomy/food history/wine seminars led by Dr. Charles Leary and
Vaughn Perret, with visits by local experts and field trips to food & wine destinations around Andalusia. Day
and weekend trips to food destinations are also included. This semester will place an emphasis on food products,
ingredients, and food systems as well as some instruction in practical culinary/food production techniques. Field trips will
be an important component of many of the block courses.
Primary faculty: Vaughn Perret & Charles Leary, Ph.D. Primary
Text: Jean-Louis Flandrin, ed. Food: A Culinary History (European Perspectives) available in French and English;
J.-L. Flandrin, M. Montanari, Histoire de l'alimentation (Paris, Fayard, 1996) Intensive courses presented
in two-week blocks: - The Mediterranean as a food region, historical & contemporary: This course will consider
the Mediterranean basin as a dynamic food region encompassing numerous countries with a longstanding & intriguing history.
- The New Spanish Cuisine: taking the lead in Europe. This course will consider Spain's place within the
culinary landscape in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, including the rise to prominence of regions like the Basque
country and Catalunya.
- Wine & Food Pairing Master Class, including techniques of evaluation & flavor
dynamics, with special exploration of the new designated wine region Vino de la Tierra Norte de Granada.
- The Pyreness and the French/Spanish border: a Master Class on Regional & Sustainable Food Systems (local markets
& producers; traditional production methods; regional approaches to food and cuisine; understanding a self-supporting
food system in French history and contemporary French society)
- The European Dining Experience: culture, aesthetics,
and history plus practical wine & food pairing. Possible text: Hayagreeva Rao, Phillipe Monin and Rodolphe Durand, "Institutional
Change in Toque Ville: Nouvelle Cuisine as an Identity Movement in French Gastronomy"; Paul Metzner, Crescendo of
the Virtuoso: Spectacle, Skill, and Self-Promotion in Paris during the Age of Revolution (California), chapter on Careme.
- Artisanal products and production techniques for wine and food, including mushrooms & wild foods, fermentation
and food production, olive oil, heirloom or "typical" vegetables, specialty seafood, small-scale viticulture &
vinification, etc. An important topic of this class will be an analysis of the Spanish food markets as economic, social, and
cultural institutions and how lessons from the Mediterranean system might be applied elsewhere.
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