CRP 387C, ARC 357Q, LAR 380Q, U D 381E
T 2:00PM-5:00PM, BEN 1.124
Open to all students
Instructor: Lorig Hawkins (lorigh@gmail.com)
This course traces the history of agriculture and examines how policy, culture, and economics have shaped it into its current global form. Students will explore agricultural practices and policy across local, national, and global scales, tracing the systems, decisions, and cultural forces that determine how food is grown, distributed, and consumed. Particular attention is given to the intersection of agriculture with planning and design disciplines, exploring how land use decisions, urban development, and policy frameworks influence food access and production.
Students will investigate the relationship between identity and agriculture, considering how culture, community, and tradition shape food systems and practices around the world. The course examines sustainability goals within modern agriculture, including soil health and management as a foundation for long-term food security, alongside the environmental and social challenges of feeding a growing and changing global population — from climate change to shifting demographics and resource scarcity.
Through case studies, discussion, and critical analysis, students will reflect on the journey food takes from field to table, unpacking the layers of policy, infrastructure, and decision-making embedded in that path. By the end of the course, students will be able to articulate key concepts linking agriculture to planning and design, describe the systems that shape how we think about and interact with food, and critically evaluate the food system we've inherited — and the possibilities for reshaping it.