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LUNCH & LEARN – Understanding Food: Theories of Eating & Tasting in Everyday Life
May 12, 2026
12:00 PM-1:00 PM
Viewing in Eastern TimeAdjust
You are invited to join SOCHE for a virtual lunch and learn entitled “Understanding Food: Theories of Eating and Tasting in Everyday Life,” on Tuesday, May 12, beginning at 12 p.m. ET. The session will be presented by Dr. María Ortiz, executive director of the Faculty Enrichment Center at the University of Cincinnati.
Participants in this session will gain a deeper understanding of food as more than just a means of sustenance, exploring its role as a cultural and social practice. They will examine how food is connected to identity, memory, and performance, and how it reflects broader social dynamics and power structures. Through engaging discussions and theoretical perspectives, participants will learn to critically analyze representations of food in media, history, and the arts.
This session encourages reflection on how everyday eating practices shape and are shaped by personal and collective experiences. Participants also will explore how food relates to life’s major themes, including community, emotion, and even mortality. By the end, learners will be equipped with new frameworks for interpreting the significance of food in both historical and contemporary contexts.
By participating in this session, learners will be able to:
- Recognize the cultural and social dimensions of food beyond its biological function.
- Identify how food practices are linked to identity formation, self-expression, and community.
- Explain the ways food intersects with systems of power, memory, and social inequality.
- Apply theoretical concepts to analyze food-related themes in historical, artistic, and media contexts.
- Reflect on how everyday food experiences contribute to personal and collective narratives.
- Evaluate contemporary issues related to food access, meaning, and representation across different cultures and time periods.
Click here to learn more about the presenter and the event.
From identity and memory to power and representation, you’ll gain new tools to examine how food shapes—and is shaped by—our everyday lives. Register now to expand your perspective on what food truly means.
Registration for this event will close on Sunday, May 10.
[If you are unable to attend live, a recording link will be sent to all registrants.]