{"id":2488,"date":"2020-07-30T16:50:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-30T23:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/for-one-summer-college-course-food-provides-a-passport-to-los-angeles\/"},"modified":"2025-03-31T15:41:03","modified_gmt":"2025-03-31T22:41:03","slug":"maymester-class-uses-food-to-understand-los-angeles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/maymester-class-uses-food-to-understand-los-angeles\/","title":{"rendered":"For one summer college course, food provides a passport to Los Angeles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n            \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3274-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3274-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"For one summer college course, food provides a passport to Los Angeles\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  USC students learn that food is about much more than filling your stomach. (Composite: Letty Avila. Image source: iStock.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=arts-and-culture\">Arts and Culture<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>For one summer college course, food provides a passport to Los Angeles<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  A Maymester class uses food as a vehicle for understanding the diversity, cultures and history of one of the world\u2019s culinary hot spots \u2014 even during the COVID-19 lockdown. <strong>[4\u00bc min read]<\/strong>\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Lance Ignon<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">July 30, 2020<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 4.0350275 0 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xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m8.14285714 9.42857143c-.17142857 0-.34285714 0-.51428571.08571428l7.28571427 6.34285719c.3428572.2571428.6857143.2571428.9428572 0l7.2857142-6.34285719c-.0857142-.08571428-.2571428-.08571428-.4285714-.08571428zm-1.28571428 1.11428567v.1714286 8.5714286c0 .6857143.6 1.2857143 1.28571428 1.2857143h14.57142856c.6857143 0 1.2857143-.6 1.2857143-1.2857143v-8.5714286c0-.0857143 0-.0857143 0-.1714286l-7.2 6.3428572c-.7714286.6857143-1.8857143.6857143-2.6571429 0z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -9)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Email<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                  <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>\u201cAnd it turns out food is a pretty good prism through which to view humanity.\u201d \u2014 Jonathan Gold<\/p>\n<p>If you want to get to know Los Angeles, start with its food. Because food isn\u2019t just about eating. It\u2019s about who we are and how we live.<\/p>\n<p>From a pupuseria in Pacoima to a bistro in Beverly Hills, from a falafel shop in Tarzana to a Sichuan eatery in San Gabriel, Los Angeles County\u2019s food choices reflect its vast diversity of people and cultures. Understand its food and you can begin to understand not only its people but where they live, where they come from and how L.A.\u2019s unrelenting self-reinvention is shaping their lives \u2014 for better and worse.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s the premise of a Maymester course titled <i>From Pueblo to Postmates: Food and Class in Los Angeles<\/i>, taught by Michael Petitti, an assistant professor (teaching) in the <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/thematic-option\/\">Thematic Option honors program<\/a> at USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wanted to do a course \u2026 that looked at food but didn\u2019t sidestep issues like homelessness, food insecurity, poverty, class,\u201d Petitti said. \u201cThis is not just a food tour of L.A. It\u2019s what made the city and what it is right now in the 21st century. Every area and type of cuisine has different kinds of stories about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The class, which Petitti has taught every spring for the past three years, begins with a general discussion about Los Angeles. Then he starts taking his students to specific neighborhoods \u2014 East L.A., South L.A., Koreatown, the San Gabriel Valley \u2014 to learn about the food, people and issues in each location.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 250px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/migration-uploads\/MichaelPettiti_InStoryA-3274.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of Michael Petitti.\" width=\"250\" height=\"700\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael Petitti took students on a whirlwind virtual tour of L.A.\u2019s culinary hot spots. (Photo: Courtesty of Michael Petitti.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Students dive into literature, news reporting, music, television programs, movies and podcasts to learn all they can about the cultural crazy quilt that is L.A. All of which is augmented by guest lecturers. Of course, the field trips were especially welcomed by students because they included eating some of L.A. most inventive and scrumptious food.<\/p>\n<p>During their foray into South L.A., for example, students learned how the three chefs for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AllFlavorNoGrease\/\">All Flavor, No Grease<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/tacomell.net\/\">Taco Mell<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/category\/Food---Beverage-Company\/The-Bleu-Kitchen-123237431471168\/\">Bleu Kitchen<\/a>, who call themselves the Foodminati, harnessed the power of Instagram \u2014 and their culinary visions \u2014 to serve extra comforting food from a combination of trucks and a brick-and-mortar restaurant. Last year, they opened the Court Caf\u00e9 on West Centinela Avenue not far from the 405 freeway. With menu items like oxtail chili mac, garlic noodles and lobster tail and waffles, no one goes away hungry.<\/p>\n<p>Then came COVID-19.<\/p>\n<p>With students learning online this past spring semester, Petitti had to quickly pivot to interacting with his students over Zoom instead of over a lunch counter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI never considered not teaching the course,\u201d said Petitti. \u201cBut it is such an active part of the course to go out into the city and eat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe downside, the big one, was not being able to eat the food,\u201d said Maddie House, a junior majoring in health promotion and disease prevention at <a href=\"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/\">Keck School of Medicine of USC<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But, unexpectedly, there were some advantages to learning online.<\/p>\n<p>House said some of the guest lectures were better online. A virtual tour of the Watts Towers allowed her to view archival photos that she would not have seen if they had visited the landmark in person.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn general, I did feel I got a good sense of L.A.,\u201d House said.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 250px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/migration-uploads\/LAFood_InStoryB-3274.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of food truck with menu posted outside. \" width=\"250\" height=\"700\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Food trucks offer some of the most interesting menu choices in L.A. (Image Source: Yelp\/ Andrea A.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThe food was the most important part of the class and the least important part of the class,\u201d said USC Dornsife junior Patrick Fang, a double major in <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/hist\/law-history-culture\/\">law, history and culture<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/psyc\/\">psychology<\/a>. \u201cNot having it as the central part of the class, we had to engage more with the readings and the speakers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The course draws its inspiration from many of the great food writers, from M.F.K. Fisher and Calvin Trillin to Anthony Bourdain and, of course, the late <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/la-jonathan-gold-1960-2018-20180722-storygallery.html\">Jonathan Gold<\/a> of <i>LA Weekly<\/i> and the <i>Los Angeles Times<\/i>, the only food writer to win the Pulitzer Prize. Petitti had been speaking with Gold about guest-lecturing in the course not long before the writer passed away in 2018 at the age of 57.<\/p>\n<p>Now, students watch the 2015 documentary about him, <i>City of Gold<\/i>, which chronicles how Gold used food as a passport to every corner of Los Angeles.<\/p>\n<p>Having learned so much about L.A. and its people, how gentrification is affecting them, how its neighborhoods have changed, and how food can start conversations and bridge cultural divides \u2014 not to mention fill an empty stomach \u2014 the question remains, where are Petitti, Fang and Fang headed to when they\u2019re back on campus?<\/p>\n<p>For Petitti, it\u2019s Mariscos Jalisco food trucks, specifically the one on Olympic Boulevard in East L.A. near the old Sears building. For Fang, it\u2019s Revolutionario North African Tacos on West Jefferson Boulevard not far from the USC campus. House will be heading to Chichen Itza Restaurant, which is also near campus. But it won\u2019t end with these three food spots.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have a list of, like, 22 restaurants I\u2019d like to try,\u201d Fang said.<\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s just for starters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-related-stories \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-related-stories\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n    \n                  <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/central-asia-human-rights-maymester\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >In Central Asia, students advocate for human rights amid geopolitical tensions<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/jon-kaji-family-endowment-supports-global-experiential-learning\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Global impact of Japanese design is focus of USC Dornsife course, supported by new endowment<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/death-on-the-ganges\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Death on the Ganges: Students explore how death and religion intertwine in India<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n            <\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Maymester class uses food as a vehicle for understanding the diversity, cultures and history of one of the world\u2019s culinary hot spots \u2014 even during the COVID-19 lockdown. <strong>[4\u00bc min read]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":2491,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[133,181,186,610],"class_list":["post-2488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-and-culture","tag-food","tag-los-angeles","tag-maymester","tag-thematic-option"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>For one summer college course, food provides a passport to Los Angeles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Maymester class uses food as a vehicle for understanding the diversity, cultures and history of one of the world\u2019s culinary hot spots. [4\u00bc min read]\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/maymester-class-uses-food-to-understand-los-angeles\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"For one summer college course, food provides a passport to Los Angeles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Maymester class uses food as a vehicle for understanding the diversity, cultures and history of one of the world\u2019s culinary hot spots. 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