A Political History of Vegetarianism

This seminar seeks to explore vegetarianism in all its complexity as it developed in the Anglo-American sphere from the 19^th century to today. Is vegetarianism a lifestyle? An ideology? A subculture? A form of political consumption? Throughout the sessions, we will discuss texts and cultural objects dealing with vegetarianism, created by its supporters or opponents; we will analyze how vegetarianism resonated with other reform and protest movements, how it evolved with the industrialization of food production and animal rearing, the motivations behind the choice of a vegetarian diet.