Education
Currently we offer the following courses:
"Food Systems" (BK79) B.Sc. / in German / Winter Semester
Food doesn’t just appear on our plates – it is the result of complex systems shaped by people, policies, markets, and technologies. This module provides an in-depth understanding of the structure and dynamics of food systems, from production to consumption.
Students learn to identify key components such as food environments, supply chains, and consumer behavior, and to assess their impacts on health, sustainability, and equity. The course also explores broader drivers like environmental change, digitalization, and policy, always with an eye toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
"Food Sociology" (BK80) B.Sc./ in German / Summer Semester
What, how, and why we eat is shaped by more than just personal preferences – it’s embedded in social, cultural, and political contexts. In this module, students explore fundamental sociological theories and concepts to critically examine food and eating as social practices.
Students engage with various perspectives – from cultural sociology and consumption studies to body sociology and demography – and apply them to real-world questions in consumer research. Key topics include food routines, eating habits, health and sustainability discourses, and the role of food in everyday life, households, and broader societal settings.
"Sociology of Eating" (MP198) M.Sc. / in German / Winter Semester
Food is a powerful symbol and a deeply social act. This module examines food from a sociological perspective – not by comparing cuisines, but by analyzing the cultural and political meanings behind eating practices and their social embeddedness.
Students explore how food reflects and shapes identities, values, and social norms. They analyze how everyday food choices are influenced by moral beliefs, group affiliation, and structural conditions – and how sociological theories explain these dynamics. Topics include rituals, ethics, food spaces, and the role of institutions and discourse in shaping food culture.
"Political Ecology" (MK110) M.Sc. / in English / Summer Semester
How do power, politics, and inequality shape our relationship with nature and resources? In this module, students explore Political Ecology as a critical lens to examine environmental issues, resource use, and governance – with food serving as one example among others.
Students learn to analyze the political, economic, and moral dimensions of issues such as hunger, food security, sustainability, and environmental justice. Topics include global-local food dynamics, actors and movements, and strategies for governance. The module fosters critical reflection on the interplay of ecological systems and socio-political power structures in a globalized world.
Gender and Food (MP103) M.Sc. / in German / Summer Semester
Food is never just food – it also reflects and reinforces gender norms and roles. This module explores how eating practices are shaped by and contribute to social constructions of gender.
Students examine empirical and theoretical perspectives on gendered eating behaviors, from food preferences and domestic roles to body norms and disordered eating. Themes include the symbolic role of food in care work, the cultural meaning of the “housewife,” and the ways in which food practices express or challenge societal expectations around femininity and masculinity.
Bachelor or Master Thesis
In case you are interested in supervision at B.Sc., M.Sc. or Ph.D. level, please just get in touch by stating your research interest.
More information about the courses can be found on stud.IP after logging in.