Advanced School in Sustainability and Food Policies
2010 Online Summer School on Food Policies
July 19 - October 25 2010
Overall concept
The school will be organized into eight interlinked subject areas (see below), and its final aim will be to produce a guideline document per area addressed to stakeholders (governments, companies, NGOs, institutions) keen to adopt food policies encompassing the latest analyses on ecological, economic, social and sensory sustainability. The school will be structured as an online course running from mid July until mid October, and as a face-to-face course during the Terra Madre event, which will be held in Turin 21-25 October (August will be a “reading month”). For each of the eight subject areas, one or more outstanding international keynote expert(s) (see below) will be invited to contribute. The experts will be assisted by a faculty (coordinated by the Faculty of the University of Gastronomic Sciences) composed by 2-4 teaching staff members. A maximum of five selected international students will be assigned to each subject area (for a total of 40 students). Each keynote expert will draw up an initial draft analysis on which the faculty members and students will subsequently build on by interacting online. Following eight weeks of online teaching sessions (approximately 40 hrs.), the draft document will be discussed during the Terra Madre workshops on October 22. Alongside the Terra Madre food communities the document will be finalized in order to produce a second draft, which will be presented during the closing session (October 24). The final version of the document will be published and translated in all the requested languages by Terra Madre Day (December 10).
Subject areas and subject areas' leaders
- Social systems and transformations – Wolfgang Sachs, Serge Latouche and Raj Patel
- Energy and systemic productions – Jeremy Rifkin and Gunter Pauli
- Biodiversity and ecosystems – Fritjof Capra, Gary Nabhan, and Marcello Buiatti
- Goods, common resources, and exchanges – Stefano Zamagni
- Law, rights, and policies – Christoph Spennemann, Daniele Giovannucci
- Sustainable education – Manfred Max-Neef
- Traditional knowledge, gender, and immaterial values – Vandana Shiva and Carlo Petrini
- Pleasure and well-being – Tim Lang
Faculty coordinators
Simone Cinotto (area 1); Franco Fassio (area 2); Paola Migliorini (area 3); Bruno Scaltriti (area 4); Irene Biglino and Anthony Olmo (area 5); Valeria Cometti (area 6); Piercarlo Grimaldi (area 7); Nicola Perullo (area 8).
Maximum available seats
40 students.
Eligibility criteria
- BSc/BA or equivalent (to be documented via CV, copies of degree certificates)
- Fluency in English
- Basic IT skills
- Strong interest in investigating sustainability as applied to food policies (to be documented via the application letter)
Syllabus outline
The course will analyze how sustainable food polices need to be developed in the context of the following subject areas:
- Social systems and their transformations
- Energy and systemic productions
- Biodiversity and ecosystems
- Goods, common resources, and exchanges
- Law, rights, and policies
- Sustainable education
- Traditional knowledge, gender, and immaterial values
- Pleasure and well-being
Learning outcomes
At the conclusion of the program students will be able to:
- a. read and understand the relevant scientific literature in one of the eight subject areas
- b. identify (within one specific subject area) the factors, which may affect sustainable food production and consumption
- c. critically analyze the holistic and trans-disciplinary interdependence between these factors
- d. analyze and re-draft as a case study a document of recommendations devoted to external policy makers/stakeholders
- e. write a critical analysis report
Teaching strategy
Online lectures and tutorials (40 hrs.) and one face-to-face seminar (8 hrs.) during the Terra Madre event in Turin (21-25 October 2010).
Duration
Eight weeks between July 19 and October 25, 2010. August will be a reading month.
Assessment
Written critical analysis report (maximum 10,000 words).
Academic credits
5 academic credits (ECTS) (1 credit=25 hrs. of students’ work).
Important dates
- 15 June: call closed; selection of the students by an ad-hoc selection committee
- 19 July: courses begin: students will participate in all subject areas
- August: students will be provided with a reading list
- 15 September: students will be working within a single subject area only and contribute to the drafting of the corresponding chapter of the document
- 21-25 October: Terra Madre (attendance is highly encouraged for students)
- 30 November: deadline for sending the written critical analysis report (max 10,000 words)
Fees and Scholarships
1,000 € covering the online course, classes and workshops during Terra Madre, as well as teaching material.
There are scholarships available. Scholarships will be awarded on the basis of the applicant’s nationality as well as on the applicant’s motivation. To be considered for a scholarship, your motivation letter should answer why you feel you should be considered for such a grant.
Application Deadline
Applications must be received no later than June 15, 2010.
Organisers/Contact persons
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