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CREATIVE ARTS
Students enrolled in the course will experience bustling culture and cuisine while visiting Seoul, South Korea.
Food & Culture Course Wins National Award For Curriculum Design
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vila University earned a national Clarion Award by the Association for Women in Communication for one of its innovative interdisciplinary courses, the Food & Culture Course (IS 366).
The award was given for curriculum design in the education category. The Association for Women in Communication only gives one award in this category each year, and the Avila course was selected among hundreds of submissions. Dotty Hamilton, Ph.D., professor of communication and dean, and Eric Winter, assistant professor of art and design, formulated the unique course, which uses food as a lens to teach students about other cultures, as well as vital global issues surrounding food. The courses were judged on syllabi, course assignments, research and measurable results based on student evaluations and comments. “We also submitted our rationale and goals for designing the course,” Hamilton said. “In our case, this course was inspired
by the mission of Avila University – to prepare students for responsible lifelong contributions to the global community.” Course assignments included traditional projects such as course readings, research papers and presentations as well as experiential – trips to Middle Eastern and Asian markets, eating at an Ethiopian restaurant where they heard a presentation on food and culture from the Ethiopian chef, a Google video chat with a South Korean student and a trip to Shatto Dairy Farm. Students could participate in extra activities including restaurant visits to learn about Vietnamese and vegan food. In spring 2014, the course will be offered as a travel course with a trip to Seoul, South Korea. “We’re happy that we were chosen and hope it can bring more attention to Avila’s innovative courses,” Winter said.