Food Sociology
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Food Sociology at the University of Giessen studies food cultures and food politics. We are interested in sustainable food systems with particular interest in the cultural practices of eating as well as the socio-political organisation of food.
On this website you find information about our research agenda, educational activities as well as our team. Welcome!
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.
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1. Food practices and food cultures:
The first focus on food practices and food cultures studies food in societal context. We are interested in concepts and approaches from cultural sociology to investigate how food relates to beliefs, norms cultural affiliation. We are also interested in the social differentiation via food, social inequalities and social justice with regard to more sustainable food consumption.
2. Socio-political organisation of food provisioning and consumption:
Our second key interest in the socio-political organisation of food lies in scrutinising institutional, organisational and political parameters of sustainable food systems. In the sense of food politics, we are interested in how various actors and stakeholders influence systems of provision and everyday eating. Food is a multidimensional phenomenon that needs consideration across scales, local, regional or global, but also with regard to different forms of organisation.
- People
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Professor of Food Sociology
+49 641 99-39310
Senckenbergstr. 3, 35390 Giessen
Room 416
Secretariat
+49 641 99-37033
jutta.bender@agrar.uni-giessen.de
Senckenbergstr. 3, 35390 Giessen
Room 416a
Researcher
+49 641 99-39311
Senckenbergstr. 3, 35390 Giessen
Room 419
Researcher
+49 641 99-39312
Senckenbergstr. 3, 35390 Giessen
Room 419
IPPAE - PhD researcher
Senckenbergstr. 3, 35390 Giessen
Room 304
Madita Zöller-Cannito, M.A. Researcher (on parental leave)
Manale Andargie Embiyale IPPAE - PhD Researcher
Senckenbergstr. 3, 35390 Giessen
Room 304
GCSC - PhD Researcher
Alexandra Stuhlmann, B.Sc.
Student assistant
+49 641 99-39314
alexandra.stuhlmann@nu.uni-giessen.de
Room 418
Torben Stein, B.Sc.
Student assistant
Former members of staff
