Only one students studied all three colleges and he chose to study the various foodscapes through the creation of this photo documentary. To see descriptions of each photo, scroll to the bottom of the page!
Documenting the tri-college consortium's foodscape through images: a photo documentary by kevin medansky
While they are certainly not the exclusive sources of food for students, the four dining halls across the Tri-College Consortium—Haverford College Dining Center, Erdman Dining Hall, “Haffner”/New Dorm Dining Hall, and Sharples Dining Hall—each present new perspectives in the food experience of students across the institutions. Important lenses into these experiences include the following: Intersections in food placement, personal identity, and activism; quality and normality; and unique practices concerning what makes a true meal.
The first category seeks to reconcile what eating across the consortium means when it conflicts with and encourages one to explore their own identity, both in the form of school affiliation and conceptions of home. Furthermore, this perspective focuses on what students do when they take food from outside of the dining halls, when they combine food from the dining halls with that of other sources, and when they strive to change their own foodscape.
The second explores notions of quality and normality, specifically when the former is dramatically different than one might normally expect, given the nature of each of these dining halls as of prestigious liberal arts colleges, and in comparison to what one might expect at a similarly priced restaurant. This is particularly important, because the dining halls provide most or all of the nutrition many students take in; dining hall quality and students’ conceptions of food are wholly correlated. Thus, students’ thoughts on the quality of particular types of foods, such as vegetables, may encourage them to eat more when not consuming food from the dining halls. If one accepts that the dining halls are educational institutions for cuisine and consumption, then this category is an imperative.
The final perspective grapples with the ever-changing natures of work, food, and snacking across the consortium. One must consider that the table vivante may be shifting, and its trends are critical to follow, as we consider what sorts of foods and environments we’d like our foodscape to consist of.
It is important to recognize that all of these photographs are shot on simple cell phone cameras, with the goal of exploring meals as students do—through fast imagery via social media. Image quality, use of flash, and over-exposure are what we live with, and the communication of meals and their ingredients may be nearly as important as the meals themselves.
This portrait of the Tri-College foodscape does not capture all that every dining hall provides, but it seeks to force us onto the following questions: How is our foodscape changing, and what social trends and institutions are at play in this change? How does our foodscape direct us, in terms of finding nutrition and dietary balance, as well as exploring cultural and cuisine-based identities? Perhaps, with a more in-depth exploration of how we experience food, we may better decide how we’d like to shape our foodscape, if we still can.
The first category seeks to reconcile what eating across the consortium means when it conflicts with and encourages one to explore their own identity, both in the form of school affiliation and conceptions of home. Furthermore, this perspective focuses on what students do when they take food from outside of the dining halls, when they combine food from the dining halls with that of other sources, and when they strive to change their own foodscape.
The second explores notions of quality and normality, specifically when the former is dramatically different than one might normally expect, given the nature of each of these dining halls as of prestigious liberal arts colleges, and in comparison to what one might expect at a similarly priced restaurant. This is particularly important, because the dining halls provide most or all of the nutrition many students take in; dining hall quality and students’ conceptions of food are wholly correlated. Thus, students’ thoughts on the quality of particular types of foods, such as vegetables, may encourage them to eat more when not consuming food from the dining halls. If one accepts that the dining halls are educational institutions for cuisine and consumption, then this category is an imperative.
The final perspective grapples with the ever-changing natures of work, food, and snacking across the consortium. One must consider that the table vivante may be shifting, and its trends are critical to follow, as we consider what sorts of foods and environments we’d like our foodscape to consist of.
It is important to recognize that all of these photographs are shot on simple cell phone cameras, with the goal of exploring meals as students do—through fast imagery via social media. Image quality, use of flash, and over-exposure are what we live with, and the communication of meals and their ingredients may be nearly as important as the meals themselves.
This portrait of the Tri-College foodscape does not capture all that every dining hall provides, but it seeks to force us onto the following questions: How is our foodscape changing, and what social trends and institutions are at play in this change? How does our foodscape direct us, in terms of finding nutrition and dietary balance, as well as exploring cultural and cuisine-based identities? Perhaps, with a more in-depth exploration of how we experience food, we may better decide how we’d like to shape our foodscape, if we still can.
Intersections in food placement, personal identity and activism
Quality and concepts of normality
unique practices concerning what makes a true meal
Open this document to read photo descriptions!! Descriptions are in order by section, then from left to right.
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