NS 2450

Social Science Perspectives on Food and Nutrition

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2025-2026 Catalog.

Uses theories, concepts, and methods from the social sciences to examine food, eating, and nutrition. The food choice process model is used as a framework to examine the scope of social science aspects of nutrition. Assignments include examinations, short homework papers, and two research projects, one qualitative and one quantitative, for which students prepare proposals, collect and interpret data, and write reports.

Prerequisites/Corequisites Prerequisite: students must have taken another NS course prior to requesting enrollment.

Permission Note Enrollment preference given to: DNS, CHE, CALS students.

Course Attribute (EC-LASP)

Last 4 Terms Offered 2025FA, 2024FA, 2023FA, 2022FA

Outcomes

• Explain how social science concepts and theories apply to food and nutrition issues and explain individual, social, cultural, economic, and historical patterns of food, eating, and nutrition.
• Describe basic social facts about food, eating, and nutrition.
• Demonstrate basic principles and procedures for conducting qualitative interviews and survey research to understand food choice, including protecting human participants in research.
• Demonstrate sensitivity and appreciation of individual, social, cultural, economic, and historical variations in food, eating, and nutrition.

Distribution Category (SBA-HE)

When Offered Fall.

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