UCC MA in Food Studies and Irish Foodways

Programme overview

PLEASE NOTE: THE PRECISE START DATE FOR THIS SEPTEMBER COURSE IS YET TO BE CONFIRMED. PLEASE ENSURE YOU CHECK WITH US FOR EXACT DATES PRIOR TO REGISTRATION.

Interest in food and culinary matters is at an all-time high as Ireland develops a more considered relationship with Irish food culture. Recent and ongoing research reports by government food agencies and industry identify trends that impact and direct food business; production; product development; food tourism; media focus, and food-based community initiatives. Prominent findings highlight the importance of local connections and the development of local food cultures: ‘authenticity’ of food, place and product story; food systems transparency; sustainable food practices, and social responsibility; ethical and responsible production practices and purchase and consumption choices; product and economic development based on heritage of place, nostalgia, regionality, and seasonality. Yet despite these developments, there has been no corresponding academic programme of study that examines the complexities, the intricacies, and the fascinating elements in the development and evolution of Irish food culture and its connection to global food developments.

“I recommend this inspired new course to all those who have an interest in Irish food, work in the food industry and care about the future of Irish food in these particularly challenging times.” Darina Allen, Ballymaloe Cookery School

The MA In Food Studies and Irish Foodways is designed to redress this imbalance. It is the first university programme of study that has a dedicated focus on Irish food and culinary culture. It examines food and culinary systems of the past and the present from the perspectives of production, processing, preservation, preparation, and consumption.

It will guide students through popular discourses such as farm to fork, ocean to plate, factory to plate, exploring what these mean in the present day and what they meant in the past.
It will also explore concepts like identity, tradition, gender, memory, and ethics and discuss how these apply to the study of food. Areas of study include food and culinary history, food and folklore, food and creative practice, food and literature, nutrition and health, food and the environment, sustainability, food policy, the contemporary Irish food system, and research methods in foodways.

Why Choose this Course?
• A long and disguised history of accomplishments in the humanities, food sciences and food and the environment.
• Meet lecturing staff actively engaged in original research in their disciplines.
• Experience excellence in teaching and student care.
• Thrive in a high qualify student-supervision environment, with extensive one-to-one supervision in completing your research dissertation.
• Develop competencies and confidence in discussing the relationship and interconnections between local, regional and global food practices.
• We strive to empower students with skills, knowledge & confidence to contribute to positive societal change in matters of food discourse, education and consumption behaviours.
• We support you in developing expertise in a subject that is fundamental to how we will develop and experience the future.

Course Practicalities
The MA in Food Studies and Irish Foodways is an exciting and original programme of study. It is the first university course that takes a transdisciplinary approach to exploring Irish food culture in the global context of food studies. UCC has a long and proud tradition of excellence in food research and student-focused teaching, and this course brings together a stellar team of academics, who are well-respected and well-established in their fields of study. Students will be exposed to the results of their original and cutting-edge research, to critical and original thinking in Irish food studies, and to innovative teaching approaches. T
This is a rare opportunity to study with acclaimed academics, to be inspired by their expertise and to be guided by them in developing creative and critical approaches to applying your skills and knowledge of Ireland’s food culture to career development and innovation. And, as this is the only course of its kind in Ireland, successful candidates will be able to engage with authority and integrity with developments and discussions of Irish food.

“Because of its multi-disciplinary approach, the UCC Postgraduate Diploma will play a significant role in how students will actively shape the future food culture of the country, in particular by allowing them to understand and utilise traditions which can and will play an enormous part in developing Ireland’s food culture.” DrJohn McKenna & Dr Sally McKenna, Authors, Ireland The Best, McKennas’ Guides and Extreme Greens: Understanding Seaweed

Additional Teaching Mode Information
The programme will run one evening per week (usually Tuesday evening) over two academic years with students attending a three-hour lecture from mid-September to May, with 1 Saturday (full-day) on UCC-campus workshop per semester. Students are also required to undertake approx. 12 hours of self-directed study each week. Four guided fieldtrips will be taken during the programme (year I: two full-day fieldtrips (Saturday or Sunday). Year II: two full-day fieldtrips (Saturday or Sunday). (The course fee does not include the costs associated with fieldtrips, i.e., travel costs and, if applicable, venue admissions.)

Year 1 Modules
► FL6804 An Introduction to Irish Food Studies
► GG6802 The Irish Food System and Food Policy
► HI6801 Irish Food and Culinary History
► DR6801 Food and Creative Practice

Year 2 Modules
► FL6802 Food, Festival and Folklore
► PS6801 Food, the Environment and Sustainability
► NT6801 Introduction to the Principles of Nutrition
► FL6805 Dissertation in Irish Food Studies
► FL6806 Heritage Foods in Contemporary Society
► FL6807 Research Methods in Irish Foodways

Who teaches this course
Lecturing staff are drawn from across University colleges and include but are not confined to:
Professor Jools Gilson - School of Music & Theatre
Ms Ruth Hegarty - Adult Continuing Education
Dr Eoin Lettice - School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences
Dr. Alice Lucey - School of Food & Nutritional Sciences
Dr Stiofán Ó Cadhla - Rionn an Bhéaldoidis/Department Folklore & Ethnology
Dr Clíona O’Carroll - Rionn an Bhéaldoidis/Department Folklore & Ethnology
Dr Ciarán Ó Gealbháin-Rionn an Bhéaldoidis/Department Folklore & Ethnology
Ms Regina Sexton - Adult Continuing Education & School of History
The programme will also welcome a wide range of national and international guest speakers and lecturers from the academy and industry.

Fees and Funding
The regular cost for this course is €3,000 per person per academic year . Taste 4 Success Skillnet are funding €750 (25%), meaning the cost to Taste 4 Success Skillnet member companies is €2,250 per person. This fee, payable in advance, represents a very substantial discount on the cost of delivering this course. This discounted price for the programme is supported by Taste 4 Success Skillnet and is available to all eligible applicants.

Funding Eligibility Criteria
• Participating businesses must be from private enterprise based in the Republic of Ireland.
• Sole traders are eligible as Member Companies.
• Taste 4 Success Skillnet can only fund a Member Company. Member Company means an eligible/approved artisan, micro, SME, sole trader, indigenous, multinational or other eligible company registered and operating in the Republic of Ireland.
• Employees of member companies attending the programme(s) must be resident/living in the Republic of Ireland and be employed by a Member Company.
• As a government-funded training network, we can only support those meeting the above criteria.

For further information visit t4s.ie/IrishFoodMA or email info@taste4success.ie or Regina Sexton r.sexton@ucc.ie or Julie Holland julie.holland@ucc.ie

For Further Details & To Register:

►REGISTER ONLINE HERE

►DOWNLOAD COURSE BROCHURE

►UCC Course Website