Spring 2021, CairoThematic Course
Thoughts on food/Food for thoughts
Course details
- Cycle
- Spring 2021, Cairo
- Format
- Hybrid
- Taught in
- English
Share
Discuss it with AI
- Choose your preferred AI assistant.
- A new tab will open with a prompt prepared for this page.
- Press Send to begin exploring the page through dialogue, CILAS-style.
About the course
This course looks at food in perspective. We will explore various themes related to food, including the global history of foods and food heritage, food documentation and the roles foods play in rituals. The politics and the future of food will be critically examined with the help of case studies. The main focus will be on the Egyptian context but more global perspectives will also be considered. Topics include the concept of food heritage; food documentation from prehistory to cyberspace; food as a ritual, offerings and ceremony; food art and design; the right to food; food as a commodity; food as a weapon, food wars and trade agreements; food sovereignty and food subsidy; and the future of food production and consumption.
Who teaches it
Hala Barakat has a Ph.D. in Paleoecology from the University of Aix-Marseille III, France. She worked as a lecturer at Cairo University 1995-2000 and acted as deputy director at the Center for Documentation of Cultural and Natural Heritage (CULTNAT) affiliated to the Library of Alexandria. She was in charge of the documentation of the natural heritage program as well as supervising the photographic heritage, folkloric heritage and musical heritage programs at CULTNAT (2000-2012). In January 2013, Hala joined the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) as a part time researcher on the issues of “Right to Food” and “Food Sovereignty” in Egypt. She is also a founding member and former president of Nature Conservation Egypt (NCE) a non profit organization active in the field of conservation of endangered species and habitats and raising awareness to environmental issues in Egypt. Hala is also a certified Sivananda Yoga teacher and master. As a trained botanist, she has long had deep interest and knowledge in Naturopathy, Homeopathy and vegetarianism which complement her interest in yoga as a lifestyle.
Get the CILAS newsletter
New courses, open calls and articles from CILAS, in your inbox.
18 October 2026
Join CILAS's Spring semester of 2026
- Spring 2026, Cairo
