Sensation, Taste, and Flavor: Exploring Danish Cuisine Draft Syllabus

Semester & Location: Spring 2021- Copenhagen Type & Credits: 3 Credit; Elective Course Major Disciplines: Psychology, Food Studies Minor Disciplines: Neuroscience Faculty Members: Eric Wiertelak Program Director: Lars Rossen – [email protected] Time TBA

Description of Course What turns an average foods into a meal experience? Using Copenhagen's impressive food scene as your point of departure, you examine the interplay of taste and flavour with vision, audition, and touch from basic neural mechanisms to nutrition, food choices, and cultures. This course promotes the understanding of the mechanisms of sensation and perception, particularly from psychological and neuroscientific perspectives. Sensation is the process of gathering information about the environment through sensory receptors, while perception refers to the processes that prioritize, organize and derive meaning from this information. This Sensation and Perception course will promote the understanding of both psychological and neuroscientific perspectives on this important topic; unique to this course is an intentional focus on foods and the meal experience to provide context throughout.

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Many people around the world are captivated by the deliciousness and appeal of traditional Danish food and recently, what has been called the new Nordic cuisine; yet few venture into the science of what lies at the center of much of these perceptions. This course will promote the understanding of the brain and nervous system, aided by the delicious nature of Danish foods. Students will experience a variety of foods through the real-life laboratory of journeys to area markets and shops, visits to area restaurants (students participating in this course are responsible for the costs of foods consumed), and personal explorations of this topic.

Learning Objectives Students will gain an understanding of sensation and perception, and in particular, of taste, smell and flavour, from basic neural mechanisms to the interplay of taste and flavour with vision, audition and touch; to the role that taste and flavour play in nutrition, food choices and in cultures, such as Denmark. Direct experience with a variety of Danish foods and eating experience will inform students about how the nervous system mediates the sense of taste and the perception of flavour.

By the end of this course you will have gained understanding and competency in - the history of the study of sensation and perception - psychological methods used to study sensation and perception - brain and nervous system mechanisms in sensation and perception - examining the role of culture and geographical location in taste and cuisines - how foods are affected by preparation and presentation - how the manipulation of sensory mechanisms by food choice and preparation methods affects health - examining how the eating experience is multisensory, and how the deliciousness of Danish and Nordic cuisine provide insight into the function of the human nervous system.

Readings Mouritsen, Ole (2015). The science of taste. Flavour 4(18).

Sukyl, Kayt (2017). A rose by any other name: how our sense of smell influences cognition. Dana Foundation, Dana.org website.

Shepard, Gordon (2006). Smell images and the flavor system in the human brain. Nature 444(16) 316-321.

Yamamoto, Shigeru et al.(2009). Can dietary supplementation of monosodium glutamate improve the health of the elderly? American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 90 (suppl.) 844s-9s.

Hahnemann, Trine (2018) Copenhagen Food. Chapter 4: Central Copenhagen. Quadrille (London).

Redzepi, Rene and Zilber, David (2018). The Noma Guide to Fermentation. Chapter 1: Primer. Artisan (New York).

Sasano, Takashi, Satoh-Kuriwada, Shizuko, and Shoji, Noriaki (2015). The important role of umami taste in oral and overall health. Flavour 4:10.

Wiertelak, Eric (User Ed.) Exploring Sensation and Perception (2020). Published under a creative commons free use licence. Noba http://noba.to/s2bnm84e

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Possible Field Studies

Potential Field Studies include… Visiting local food markets and restaurants

The Farm of Ideas

Possible Guest Lecturers

Potential guest lectures from DIS Copenhagen faculty regarding Mindful Eating and Savouring

Approach to Teaching I work to provide an open, interactive learning environment: that means in addition to lecture and other activities that I ask questions, expect discussion and encourage you to think for yourself. Interactive learning presupposes active participation from the students. The schedule will list reading materials for each class meeting. Please be prepared by having read and thought about the material before coming to class. By reading the material beforehand, you will better understand the points I make, you will be better prepared for discussion, and you will be able to ask thoughtful and productive questions.

Classes will consider a few specific topics in depth and will typically not repeat the assigned readings; these will serve as a foundation for the lectures and it will be expected that they are included in class discussions. Thus, most of the materials in the text and readings you will learn on your own outside of class. It is imperative that you keep up with the readings, because you can 1) ask questions about reading material you find confusing or unclear, and 2) prepare for the exam.

Expectations of the Students In this course each and every one of us has the equal and unique responsibility to facilitate the most optimal learning outcomes. Students are expected to: • Complete all reading assignments prior to class and be attentive in class

• Make reference to relevant readings to support the points you are making when responding to questions in class

• Contribute to class discussions and group activities

• Draw upon your interactions and observations from daily life in Denmark as part of this class

• Work independently and be active in group work

• Read guidelines for assignments posted on Canvas

• Be punctual and attend all classes; missing classes without a legitimate reason will result in a lower final grade

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Evaluation

Participation and Attendance (15%) You must attend every class. Excused absences include serious illness and participation in religious holidays. All other absences are unexcused. If you must miss a class, please contact me as soon as possible. After 2 unexplained absences, the DIS Teaching and Learning office will be notified.

Active participation in class will include writing academic and personal reflections on Canvas, reading ahead of each class and contributing to class discussions.

Field Study/Seminar Night Experience (20%) TBA

First Exam (20%) TBA

Student Presentations (15%) TBA

Final Exam (25%) TBA

To be eligible for a passing grade in this class you must complete all of the assigned work.

General formatting guidelines All written assignments must apply these formats: - double-spaced - Times New Roman - 12-point font - 1-inch margins. - Front-page/headline and reference list does not count towards sum

Papers not adhering to these guidelines will be deducted points.

Disability and resource statement: Any student who has a need for accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the Office of Academic Support ([email protected]) to coordinate this. In order to receive accommodations, students should inform the instructor of approved DIS accommodations within the first two weeks of classes.

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Grading Assignment Percent

Participation and engagement 15%

Field Study/Seminar Night Experence 20%

First exam 20%

Student Presentations 15%

Final exam 25%

Course Summary: Potential Topics ( Note: Topics with titles beginning with “Essential Sensation and Perception” require multiple class sessions to complete)

• Introduction to the course. Why do we need to smell, taste and recognize flavours?

• Copenhagen and traditional Danish cuisine

• Essential Sensation and Perception: the sense of smell.

• The geopolitics of taste and the nervous system: 4 basic tastes?

• Flavour, smell and taste.

• Essential Sensation and Perception: vision.

• Ikeda Kikunae: the discovery of Umami?

• Essential Sensation and Perception: audition.

• Essential Sensation and Perception: the sense of touch.

• Foods and Tastes from the Oceans, part 1: Seaweeds.

• Foods and Tastes from the Oceans, part 2: Fish and shellfish.

• Broths and bases

• The new Danish Cuisine: Multi-sensory synergies of deliciousness: Ingredients, preparation, display, and presentation.

• Foods and Tastes from the Mountains and Prairies, part 1: Fungi, plantlife and fermenting.

• Foods and Tastes from the Mountains and Prairies, part 2: Meat, Eggs and Dairy products.

• Manipulating sensory and perceptual relationships in food preparation: select recipe development.

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• Employing understanding of tastes, flavours and the meal experience to promote wellness.

• Student Presentations

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