CORVALLIS - The Department of Philosophy at Oregon State University will host "The Examined Meal," an eight-part series discussing the significance of food in human life, on Thursdays during winter term.

The lectures, which are free and open to the public, are part of the Ideas Matter series. They are all scheduled for 4 p.m. in Weniger Hall Room 149.

The series opens on Jan. 20, with a roundtable discussion by OSU anthropology professor Joan Gross, agricultural and resource economics professor Bruce Weber, and chair of the Department of Philosophy Courtney Campbell on "Hunger in Oregon: What We Know, What to Do."

The other lectures are:

  • Jan. 27: "Ethics, Economics and Animal Husbandry: Can They Coexist?" with Candace Croney, OSU Department of Animal Science.

     

  • Feb. 3: "Last Supper Plates: Final Meal Requests of U.S. Death Row Inmates" with Julie Green, OSU Department of Art.

     

  • Feb. 10: "Bread and God, Spirit and Justice, in the Bible" with Marcus Borg, OSU Department of Philosophy.

     

  • Feb. 17: "American Philosophy of Agriculture: A Guided Tour from Thomas Jefferson to Wendell Berry" with Paul Thompson, Michigan State University professor of philosophy and agriculture.

     

  • Feb. 24: "Feasting and Fasting in a Globalized Marketplace" with Gary Nabhan, Northern Arizona University's Center for Sustainable Environments.

     

  • March 3: "Beliefs About Food: What Can Food Do For You?" with Melinda Manore, OSU Department of Nutrition and Food Management.

     

  • March 10: "The Unexamined Meal is Not Worth Eating" with Lisa Heldke, Gustavus Adolphus College's Department of Philosophy.

OSU students can take the lecture series as a credited class. The Department of Philosophy and the Spring Creek Project sponsor the series.

More information on the event is available at http://oregonstate.edu/dept/philosophy.

Source: 

Michael Scanlan, 541-737-5653

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