Thesis Opportunity: The TEDification of Food Activism

Increasingly TED talks are becoming trusted sources for food politics and policy making, and an important medium for food activists to communicate through. Yet, there are also limits to what can be communicated in a TED talk and how. These limitations affect the types of knowledge and activist performances that are deemed suitable. We would like to understand what TED talks are doing to and for food politics, by conducting a comprehensive analysis of recent TED talks on the theme of FOOD. We are interested in the celebrity, bodily, and visual performances that compose these talks. The effects of these talks on public opinion and policy. And the limitations and possibilities of TED talks as a mode of food activism.

Ted-Talk

Qualifications:           

  • You have some training in qualitative methods and critical social theory
  • You are an interested in digital media and food activism
  • You are willing to develop new methodologies and tools for analysing digital media
  • You are registered for one of the following MSc programmes: MID, MCS, MLP, MFT, or MOA
  • You have completed at least 2 RSO courses (or relevant social science courses)

Questions? Please get in touch!

Supervisors: Oona Morrow (RSO) oona.morrow@wur.nl & Prof. Mike Goodman, University of Reading

Introduction into Sociology and Anthropology of Place Shaping – optional course and free choice minor

Poster RSO-56806Starting Monday 17 Februray 2014,  in the 4th educational period of Wageningen University, the optional course RSO-56806 Introduction into Sociology and Anthropology of Place Shaping will be offered again in collaboratyion with Cultural Geography Group and Land Use Planning Group. For more information on the course contact the course coordinator Joost Jongerden: joost.jongerden@wur.nl

The course can be the first of four succeeding courses in period 5 and 6 up to a total of 24 ects as part of the free choice minor ‘Place and space in planning and development‘ open to BSc-students from WU and other high education institutes, such as the Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences.

The course offered as part of the minor are:

  • Period 4: RSO-56806 Sociology and Anthropology of Place-Shaping, whole days
  • Periode 5: RDS-30306 Sociological Theories of Rural Transformations, morning or GEO-23306 Cultural and istorical Geography, afternoon
  • Period 6: LUP-33306 Methods for strategic planning, whole days in week 34-39 and LUP-32306 Studio strategic planning, whole days in weeks 40-43

For more information contact minor coordinator Dirk Roep: dirk.roep@wur.nl