Cuisine and Farming at the Borders of Greece
Olga Kalentzidou
Geography
Jeff Heerdink-Santos
Hutton Honors College
This international study course will expose students to alternative culinary and farming histories of Greece at a border region. Thrace defines the northeastern most region in modern Greece. As a border area to Turkey, the region’s geography, history, and culinary legacy are tied to its Southern Balkan and Eastern neighbors. As a recent (post-1923) addition to the Greek nation-state, it is included in the national narrative, but only partially and on occasion. The region is home to a sizeable Muslim minority; significant in terms of debates about immigration to Europe; and, most recently, strategically poised to be an important NATO military base. Amidst its historical specificity, though, food has always played a defining role in explaining who the people are and how they are connected to the rest of the country’s culinary heritage.
We will study the tale of two narratives: one of big agriculture (conventional, irrigated, and driven by EU quota and policies), and local resistance to rows of corn, fields of cotton, and asparagus beds aimed at northern European consumers. We will study how commodity crop production is juxtaposed to local small-scale farms that support and promote local ingredients, local knowledge and terroir. We will visit the sites of food production (fields, small farms, orchards, factories, and distribution centers), and food consumption (restaurants, butcher shops, olive oil and cheese shops, delicatessen, and farmers’ markets). We will also engage in conversations with food activists who preserve local seeds and are concerned about biodiversity, sustainability, and regenerative agriculture. Finally, we will engage in cooking local recipes while listening to stories about cuisine and eating.
While we start our learning journey in Indiana, once in Greece we will be in Evros. From Alexandroupolis, we will journey into Northern Evros and Samothrace to appreciate how Thracian culinary identity is shaped by its geography and is subject to continuity and change.
Catalog Information: HON-H 251 HUTTON HONORS STUDY ABROAD