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SOCA-D482

Global Food Security

academic year
2024-2025
2025-2026

Course teacher(s)

Fadia Panosetti (Coordinator) and Laurence ROUDART

ECTS credits

5

Language(s) of instruction

french

Course content

  • Dietary regimes, undernourishment, and different forms of malnutrition in the world
  • Food crises and famines
  • Policies to combat chronic undernourishment
  • The concept of the commons and food
  • Food movements and food sovereignty

Objectives (and/or specific learning outcomes)

What is the state of nutrition, undernourishment, and various forms of malnutrition globally and across different regions? How do different interpretations of food crisis result indifferent approaches to prevention and intervention? How are policies designed and implemented to eliminate chronic undernourishment? Is the principle of the commons applicable to food? What are the different types of contemporary food movements? Does food sovereignty constitute a possible alternative to current globalized agri-food systems? These are the main questions addressed in this course.
  1. The global food and nutrition situation is highly diverse, combining undernourishment, malnutrition, overweight, and obesity. The first objective of this course is for students to master the key concepts used to analyze these food-related situations.
  2. What measures should be taken to prevent or address food crises, including famines? The second objective of this course is to understand the evolution of analyses related to these issues.
  3. The persistence of chronic undernourishment has prompted many governments to implement policies aimed at combating this issue. The third objective of this course is for students to become familiar with different types of anti-undernourishment policies.
  4. Since the 1990s, food movements have multiplied in response to the failures of the agricultural and food systems, with some advocating for food sovereignty. Agrarian movements introduced this concept to challenge FAO’s expansive concept of food security, and to politicize the analysis of food issues. The idea of considering food as a commons remains a subject of debate. The fourth objective of this course is to explore whether food sovereignty and the concept of food as commons could offer an alternative path for agricultural and food development.

Prerequisites and Corequisites

Required and Corequired knowledge and skills

Ability to analyse and use scientific articles in English to build an argument.

Teaching methods and learning activities

Ex-cathedra with Power Point, Discussions, Guest Lectures, Readings.

The course will be taught in English.
 

References, bibliography, and recommended reading

There will be one required reading per week. Course materials, including readings, will be made available on Université Virtuelle. 

Course notes

  • Université virtuelle

Contribution to the teaching profile

  • Réfléchir de façon pragmatique sur des politiques de développement

  • Réfléchir de façon critique aux pratiques de coopération internationale

  • Maîtriser les enjeux du développement international

  • Manipuler des concepts abstraits et les utiliser à bon escient

  • Argumenter de façon critique sur des sujets complexes

  • Utiliser une langue étrangère dans les différentes situations avec une maîtrise de niveau B1 minimum

Other information

Contacts

Fadia Panosetti

Fadia.Panosetti@ulb.be

Campus

Solbosch

Evaluation

Method(s) of evaluation

  • written examination

written examination

Written exam.

Participation in classroom discussions is also taken into account for the final grade. 

Language(s) of evaluation

  • english

Programmes