FERMENTATION, DIET, AND CULTURE IN THE AEGEAN WORLD
- May 15-June 6, 2026
- Credits: FS 49100 – 3 credits
- Cost: which includes accommodation, admission fees, transportation in countries, 3 credits, international medical insurance, some meals. It does not include airfare, some meals, personal expenses or souvenirs.
- Leaders: Steve Lindemann & Allison Wells
- Callout: September 22, 2025 @ 4 pm on Teams
Long wars of conquest ultimately decided by technology. Revolution and independence from a multi-ethnic empire. A spice so rare it saved entire villages from destruction. Come explore with us two Aegean cultures in a thousand-year conflict but united around the dinner table - Greece and Turkey. We will investigate the strong similarities and stark differences among these cultures, understanding how their shared history shapes the way they practice agriculture next door to one another - and, chiefly, how they use microbial fermentation to preserve food and shape their cuisine. This course will contain equal parts food, fermentation, and health and history, society, and culture, with the overall goal of understanding the commonalities and distinctions in the Greek and Turkish worldviews and how they manifest in agriculture. Students will explore the western coast of Turkey, Izmir and Istanbul, and the Greek islands sitting just a handful of miles the Turkish coast, Chios and Samos, with night-and-day differences in their history of interactions with the Ottoman Empire; this makes them the perfect place to observe both cultures in their close and dynamic interaction.