Bittersweet: Preparing to Study Cocoa and Permaculture in Trinidad

Although this course will include study abroad workshops and can be taken to prepare for experiential food and agricultural learning anywhere, a focus will be the stigma and historical trauma often associated with agriculture in the tropics. From literary explorations such as Valerie Loichot’s The Tropics Bite Back: Culinary Coups in Caribbean Literature, to youth-oriented regenerative agricultural initiatives such as GRuB and WHYFARM, we’ll pay careful attention to cross-cultural contemporary and historical accounts of land-based inequalities. How can the "the stigma" often associated with agricultural labor and racial capitalism be effectively understood and countered?  Why are the majority of the worlds’ farmers underpaid, not-white, and women? Why are the majority of seed companies also petrochemical companies and the highest return on real estate investment gained in “farm” land?

By the end of fall quarter, interested and qualified students will have at least entry-level proficiency in agricultural and social media production, an appreciation for land-based experiential learning including historical trauma in the contexts of Caribbean and American agriculture, sensory assessment skills regarding bittersweet tastes, and a passport.

The course will be joined by staff from the Office of International Programs & Services with synchronous and asynchronous trainings and workshops focused methods for intercultural engagements and responsible travel

 Anticipated Credit Equivalencies:

2 - Introduction to the Political Ecologies of Cocoa: (Post)Colonial Taste

2 - Food and Agriculture: Preparing for Experiential Learning Abroad