University Of Arizona's Downtown Lecture Series: All About Food

By Walbert Castillo on October 24, 2014

This article is brought to you by The Cadence, an urban oasis in the heart of downtown serving the University of Arizona community. To learn more about The Cadence, please visit us here.

The University of Arizona’s College of Social and Behavioral Sciences will be hosting its second annual downtown lecture five-part series focusing on the topic of food.

Starting from Oct. 15 to Nov. 12, these free lectures will be held every Wednesday from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the Fox Tucson Theatre located at 17 W. Congress St., Tucson, Ariz.

Image via: http://downtownlectures.arizona.edu

Due to limited seating, the Fox Tucson Theatre will be handing out tickets in advance to secure your spot at 4 p.m. every Wednesday lecture. In addition, each person is entitled to four tickets. If you are not able to attend the events, the lectures will stream online here thanks to Arizona Public Media. Although two of these events have already passed, it is not too late to attend the final three.

“Through our Downtown Lecture series, we are promoting downtown as a vibrant place to live, work, play and learn, ” said Lydia Breunig, director of community outreach and special projects for the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, in a UA News article.

Breunig also said that because the topic is food this year, it gives the Tucson community a chance to be closer with one another through discussion.

Maribel Alvarez, UA professor of anthropology and director of Tucson Meet Yourself, will be speaking this upcoming Oct. 29.

Image via: pallavi_damera on flickr.com

Spending a year in Sonora, Mexico to research regional food cooking and agriculture, Alvarez’s lecture, “We Eat What We Are,” will emphasize a greater meaning behind food as an object that builds the basic foundations of home, family, nation and community through the human construct of belonging, nostalgia, safety, pleasure and loyalty.

Understanding this perspective of food, we will be able to anthropologically define our daily food habits, traditions and practices. Alvarez will speak in-depth about the complexities and facets of food, which hold a universal appeal. In addition, she will talk about how different cultured foods can identify us as human beings.

The next lecture scheduled for Nov. 5 will focus on the Roman Empire’s concept of food. Emma Blake, associate professor of anthropology at the University of Arizona, was recently part of a study that focused on social networks and ethnic groups in pre-Roman Italy.

This downtown lecture adheres not only to Blake talking about the pros and cons in terms of the Roman Empire’s nutrition and life expectancy but also culinary heritage and environment.

Blake will also discuss the contemporary parallels that food has to offer from this culture. Hearing about these different Roman Empire foodways can potentially offer us guidance to better our well being.

Dr. Victoria Maizes, executive director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, will hold the final lecture on Nov. 12. Dr. Maizes will focus on modern science to clarify the newest diet trends as well as offer strategies to select food for pleasure, vitality and health. Dr. Maizes has extensively written and lectured about nutrition which includes advice for cancer patients and expectant mothers.

Image via: https://media.azpm.org

If you weren’t able to attend the previous lectures of Diana Liverman’s “Changing Geographies of Food” and Gary Nabhan’s “City of Gastronomy, Hub for Food Diversity,” here’s what you missed.

Dr. Liverman, co-director of the institute of the environment and regents’ professor in the school of geography, talked about the diversity of food choices and the state and geographies of our food system, racing trends in order to promote a more sustainable future.

Gary Nahban, the UA Kelogg endowed chair in sustainable food systems and a research social scientist at the Southwest center, discussed how Tucson, Arizona has become a model for re-diversifying the American diet.

In addition, Nahban talked about food justice, democracy and heritage through various agencies and organizations.

For more information about the downtown lecture series check out the official website by clicking here.

Looking for a great place to live off-campus, with access to the hip and urban downtown center? Come check out our fun rock & roll environment and see The Cadence in action. To visit our website, please click here.

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