EDUC 326 - Fermentation and Multispecies Pedagogies

Many people associate fermentation with provisions like kimchi, kombucha, sourdough, beer, wine, and sauerkraut. These sundries—many staples in various cultural gastronomies—have long been known to encourage various health benefits including gut probiotics, aid in digestion, and, among other wonders, nutrient accessibility. While these benefits are important, many scholars working in multispecies ethnographies have turned to non-human organisms (viruses, animals, and microbes) to continue critical conversations decentering human experience and reimagining epistemology, relationality, and ethics. This experiential class centers fermentation, and the microbes and bacteria involved, as a site of pedagogical potentiality that resonates with notions of biophilia, relationality, and care. Through readings and the making of different ferments, students explore what the bubbles and umami have to do with justice and democracy in the classroom and beyond.

Credits: 1.0
Corequisite: None
Prerequisites: None
Major/Minor Restrictions: None
Class Restriction: None
Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges
Core Component: None

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