{"id":26144,"date":"2025-12-16T19:18:35","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T03:18:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/?p=26144"},"modified":"2025-12-16T23:08:54","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T07:08:54","slug":"a-feast-of-knowledge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/a-feast-of-knowledge\/","title":{"rendered":"A Feast of Knowledge"},"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\/2025\/12\/dornsife-holiday-feast-top-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/dornsife-holiday-feast-top-1920x1080.jpg 1920w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/dornsife-holiday-feast-top-1280x720.jpg 1280w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/dornsife-holiday-feast-top-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Copy of \"Night Feast\" painting by Paul Klee\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \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>A Feast of Knowledge<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n    \n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">December 16, 2025<\/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 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 \n      >\n\n    \n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  <p>The essence of a feast is found in what it makes possible: conversations that stretch us, traditions that ground us, and communities that sustain us. The liberal arts do the same, transforming what we bring to the table into deeper understanding and a shared sense of life\u2019s abundance.<\/p>\n<p>Wishing you a season of joyful gatherings and lasting happiness.<\/p>\n<p>James Bullock<br \/>\n<em>Dean, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Anna H. Bing Dean\u2019s Chair<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n  \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  <h1>One Human Table<\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-26148\" src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/dornsife-holiday-feast-human-table-500x287.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration of many hands clasping one another around food on a table\" width=\"500\" height=\"287\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/dornsife-holiday-feast-human-table-500x287.jpg 500w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/dornsife-holiday-feast-human-table-768x441.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/dornsife-holiday-feast-human-table.jpg 980w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/>While the menus and utensils may differ, the act of gathering to share a special meal is universal. In her course \u201cFood in Culture and Society,\u201d anthropologist Xochitl Ruiz teaches students how celebratory meals are profoundly meaningful social and family rituals, essential to preserving community bonds and keeping food traditions alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-intro \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-intro\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  <hr \/>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n  \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  <h1>Meal Memory<\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-26149 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/dornsife-holiday-feast-meal-memory-410x550.jpg\" alt=\"Footprints in snow lead between snow-covered pines toward the sun on the horizon\" width=\"410\" height=\"550\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/dornsife-holiday-feast-meal-memory-410x550.jpg 410w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/dornsife-holiday-feast-meal-memory-764x1024.jpg 764w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/dornsife-holiday-feast-meal-memory-768x1030.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/dornsife-holiday-feast-meal-memory.jpg 980w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 410px) 100vw, 410px\" \/>Food leaves trails in the brain, like footprints in fresh snow. Neuroscientist Scott Kanoski has uncovered \u201cmeal-memory\u201d neurons that track what we last ate and when, helping us know when we\u2019re full. Once those \u201ctracks\u201d fade, appetite returns. This milestone discovery reveals how the gut and brain work together to influence hunger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-intro \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-intro\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  <hr \/>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n  \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  <h1>The Hidden Ingredient<\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-26146 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/dornsife-holiday-feast-cosmos.jpg\" alt=\"A colorful nebula\" width=\"980\" height=\"790\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/dornsife-holiday-feast-cosmos.jpg 980w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/dornsife-holiday-feast-cosmos-500x403.jpg 500w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/dornsife-holiday-feast-cosmos-768x619.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 980px) 100vw, 980px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The best feasts often leave you wondering: What secret ingredient made this dish so extraordinary? In the cosmos, that mysterious ingredient is dark matter \u2014 invisible, but essential to the universe\u2019s recipe. Cosmologist Vera Gluscevic, a preeminent scholar in dark matter research, is uncovering how it binds galaxies and shapes the cosmos, giving us a deeper understanding of the universe we call home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-intro \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-intro\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  <hr \/>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n  \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  <h1>A Feast Fit for a Pope<\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-26150 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/dornsife-holiday-feast-pope-500x527.jpg\" alt=\"&quot;Les tr\u00e8s riches heures du Duc de Berry&quot; painting by Limbourg Brothers\" width=\"500\" height=\"527\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/dornsife-holiday-feast-pope-500x527.jpg 500w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/dornsife-holiday-feast-pope-971x1024.jpg 971w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/dornsife-holiday-feast-pope-768x810.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/dornsife-holiday-feast-pope.jpg 980w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/>Medieval feasts combined exotic dishes with pageantry. Historian Jay Rubenstein cites a lavish banquet for Pope Clement VI held in Avignon, France, in 1343.<\/p>\n<p>The 27-course menu featured wild boar, venison and peacocks. Dessert was displayed on two trees, one silver festooned with fresh fruit and the other green, adorned with candied fruit. Guests were entertained with music, jousting and the spectacle of a stag presented inside a model castle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-intro \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-intro\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  <hr \/>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n  \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  <h1>A Brighter Kind of Feast<\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-26147\" src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/dornsife-holiday-feast-food-insecurity-500x527.jpg\" alt=\"Fresh produce and an bottle of juice spill from a paper bag onto a white surface\" width=\"500\" height=\"527\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/dornsife-holiday-feast-food-insecurity-500x527.jpg 500w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/dornsife-holiday-feast-food-insecurity-971x1024.jpg 971w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/dornsife-holiday-feast-food-insecurity-768x810.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/dornsife-holiday-feast-food-insecurity.jpg 980w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/>Public Exchange has helped Los Angeles County get smarter about feeding Angelenos, using real-time data to spotlight food insecurity and strengthen assistance systems. Thanks to their food system dashboard, built with USC Dornsife\u2019s Spatial Sciences Institute and other partners, local leaders can act faster to direct resources to those most in need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-intro \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-intro\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  \n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--signup-form \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--signup-form\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"text-image-container\">\n  <div class=\"text-container\">\n\n    \n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--link\">\n\n    \n    \n  \n<a \n  class=\"link\"\n  href= https:\/\/drive.google.com\/uc?export=download&#038;id=1sUjM4Sli7Nar7hW3Zczo-9h20yQJ34GV\n  target=\"_blank\"  aria-label=\"Read more about Download Card as PDF\"  \n>\n    Download Card as PDF \n  <svg version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\" x=\"0px\" y=\"0px\" viewBox=\"0 0 35 35\" enable-background=\"new 0 0 35 35\" width=\"25\" height=\"25\" xml:space=\"preserve\"><polygon fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" fill=\"#000\" points=\"19.3,27.5 29.3,17.5,19.3,7.5 16.3,10.4 21.4,15.4 6.7,15.4 6.7,19.6 21.4,19.6 16.3,24.6 \"\/><\/svg>\n<\/a>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n      <\/div>\n\n  \n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In celebration of the holidays, USC Dornsife scholars explore \u201cfeasts\u201d \u2014 from celebratory meals to the hidden ingredients of the universe to the brain\u2019s ability to track our dietary activity. Bon app\u00e9tit!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":26145,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,10,16,24],"tags":[103],"class_list":["post-26144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-and-culture","category-faculty","category-science-and-technology","category-social-impact","tag-holidays"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>A Feast of Knowledge<\/title>\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\/a-feast-of-knowledge\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Feast of Knowledge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In celebration of the holidays, USC Dornsife scholars explore \u201cfeasts\u201d \u2014 from celebratory meals to the hidden ingredients of the universe to the brain\u2019s ability to track our dietary activity. 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