The Fenway Victory Gardens in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood.

MET ML 714 A1: Urban Agriculture

Course Description: What do gardens in cities do for people? Urban agriculture is a catch-all term that covers community gardens, vegetable plots at prisons, didactically-minded gardens in schoolyards, gardens planted illegally on vacant lots, high-tech hydroponic companies, and farmers’ markets. Students will develop knowledge about how these different spaces differ across variables like legality, goals, and actors. Students in this class will learn about how growing food in Global North cities has a long past. We will debate whether urban agriculture is an excellent way for citydwellers to reduce hunger and assert their control over urban space, or whether it’s just another subtle manifestation of neoliberalism. A core goal of this course, above and beyond the content, is to develop research skills useful for other graduate-level courses.

Who should take this class? This class is designed for master’s-level students. No prior knowledge of urban agriculture is required.

When is it? The class will meet twice a week, evenings from 5:30-9pm, during the Summer 1 session (May 22-June 26).

What does the professor know about food? Zachary Nowak (that’s me) lived in Italy for twelve years, helped start a Food & Sustainability Studies Program there, and have written on the history of truffles, pizza, Chianti, and Boston breweries.

Is the Blackboard site up? Not yet but it will be soon. You can take a look at the draft syllabus.

I still have some questions… I welcome questions via email (znowak@fas.harvard.edu).