This course aims to develop a platform for a student-centered and student-run community kitchen that nurtures the spirit of social inclusion, reciprocal support, and equity. In dialogue with Student Life, Student Engagement (OSE) and Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI) and with the support of Bennington College Buildings and Grounds Department, the students will examine the functionality and purpose of the commercial kitchen space in the Student Center and reimagine the kitchen as a classroom, healing space, convivial social dining and critical discussion space, experimental laboratory or design studio to foster lateral thinking and collective learning. As a part of a broader Social Kitchen initiative which was established in 2016, Social Kitchen 2.0 focuses on a dialogue and practice of reimagining the space and functions of communal kitchens for the post-COVID world.
Social Kitchen aims to build resilient community support infrastructures, therefore the student’s solid commitment for civic engaged actions, participation and intentional social practices are expected. During the class sessions, we focus on critique, discussions and planning. In addition to the class sessions, mandatory hours for collaborative cooking, food preparation and participatory activities may be assigned, which include some weekends. The students enrolled in this class are not responsible for the operation of the Student Center Kitchen for general public use.
This class also requires registration in an asynchronous two-credit course, APA 4259.01: Social Kitchen 2.0 Lab: Culinary Space / Kitchen Practicum. Please be sure you register for this course via the add/drop form when add/drop opens on Monday, September 5.
Social Kitchen 2.0 is a part of the Critical Kitchen Pedagogy, a concept which faculty member Yoko Inoue has been developing as an attempt to incorporate interdisciplinary contemporary art practices for creating experiential learning spaces that consider food as both material and subject for research and creation. Critical Kitchen Pedagogy course material is anchored in the cultural discourse and social-political context of food. Various assignments and projects are to be pursued through interdisciplinary creative practices, including art/object making and Socially Engaged Art.
Learning Outcomes:
Collaborative endeavors and collective thinking
Inclusive placemaking
Peer-to-peer critique
Trial and error
Participation, civic responsibility and accountability
Develop criticality to understand FOOD; food systems, access and equity
Delivery Method: Fully in-person
Prerequisites: Please contact Yoko Inoue (yinoue@bennington.edu) to provide a letter of intent for this course in order to receive permission.
Corequisites: APA 4259.01: Social Kitchen 2.0 Lab: Culinary Space / Kitchen Practicum
Course Level: 4000-level
Credits: 2
TBA (Full-term)
Maximum Enrollment: 12
Course Frequency: One time only
Categories: Advancement of Public Action , All courses , Fully In-Person , Updates , Visual Arts (VA)
Tags: civic engagement , community , cooking , design , equity , food , Identity , inclusion , socially engaged art