10 Oct More bloggin'

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have moved to the Rural Sociology Group at Wageningen University. I will now also be blogging on their blog. Here is a link to my first post:  http://ruralsociologywageningen.wordpress.com/2013/10/10/new-to-the-rural-sociology-group-introducing-myself/
I can say that I am settling in. I am struggling with the Dutch language, but it will come. Favourite Dutch work to date: boomgaard = orchard. 
I have been working on my first course, Food Cultures and Customs. It has been fun thinking through the design of the course and the objectives. Most of the students will come from a science background and this will be their first foray into the social sciences. Finding ways to make the links between food technology and the sociology of food will be the biggest challenge. Time for us to get out our sociological imaginations!

 
One thing I have planned for the course is too look at insect eating as taboo. Insects are big here at Wageningen. See this page on edible insects and the contribution of edible insects to food security.  I just had a meeting with Grace Tan Hui Shan, a PhD Candidate looking at people’s reactions to bugs as food and various bug-related food taboos. She brought along some treats and I just ate a bamboo caterpillar. It was deep fried and salted. I don’t tend to like deep-fried things… so I think next time I will try them another way.