Teaching Food and Qualitative Inquiry: TOWARD AN IDEOGRAPHIC APPROACH

摘要

The rise in obesity and diet-related chronic disease in many parts of the world has led to an increased concern about healthful eating, and a consequential rise in the focus on specific, quantifiable nutrients that may help in reversing obesogenic trends. However, because of the complexity of the relationship between foods, nutrients and chronic disease, the assumed clarity and quantifiability of dietary choices can be called into question. This paper focuses on an interpretivist approach to teachingabout food, aimed at uncovering the diverse and uniquely individual nature of our relationship with food. For all involved in the project, a deeper level of self-examination with respect to food, higher-level cognitive learning about food and its socio-cultural context, and a sense of community were among the key outcomes.