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Faculty Profiles

Frederick Opie

  • Professor
Academic Division: History & Society
781-239-5611
CV

Bio

I am a Professor of History and Foodways and the author of several books, a blog, and I host a related podcast. You can find my work at FredOpie.com. My courses examine history through the lens of food. My newest classes developed in 2017 are Food and Civil Rights and Food and Politics. I offer an upper level seminar on Race and Ethnicity in Latin America which explores questions such as: What does it mean to be Black or Indian or white in Latin America?; and How has the explosive growth of export-oriented economies transformed race relations in Latin America? I use a variety of theoretical and inner-disciplinary approaches and case studies in my courses. In my course African History and Foodways students learn about movements and events that have shaped Africa from the 1400s to the present. We cover African culinary contributions to the world; African political institutions, gender, religion, colonization and independence movements. Courses equip students to do quality research, writing, and presentations.

Academic Degrees

  • Ph D, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University
  • BS, Syracuse University

Academic Interest / Expertise

Food Traditions; Social Movements; Student Athletes ages 14 to 24

Awards & Honors

  • 2012 — Sheila Biddle Ford Foundation Fellow, W. E. B. Du Bois Institute, Harvard University
  • 2011 — C. V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, Frederick Douglass Fellowship, Washington College
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Courses

  • Degree Courses 2019

    • HIS 4640 FOOD AND CIVIL RIGHTS
    • HSS 2032 AFRICAN HISTORY AND FOODWAYS

Publications

Books

  • Opie, F.D. (2017). START WITH YOUR GIFT: UNDERSTAND AND MONETIZE IT WHILE SERVING OTHERS WITH IT: START WITH YOUR GIFT: UNDERSTAND AND MONETIZE IT WHILE SERVING OTHERS WITH IT. Page: 119. Opie Publishing. link
  • Opie, F.D. (2017). Southern Food and Civil Rights: Feeding the Revolution : Southern Food and Civil Rights: Feeding the Revolution . Page: 192. American Palate . link
  • Opie, F.D. (2015). Zora Neale Hurston on Florida Food: Recipes, Remedies, and Simple Pleasures. Page: 144. The History Press . link
  • Opie, F.D. (2014). Upsetting the Apple Cart: Black-Latino Coalitions in New York City from Protest to Public Office: Columbia History of Urban Life Series. Page: 312. Columbia University Press.
  • Opie, F.D. (2009). Black Labor Migration in Caribbean Guatemala, 1882-1923: Florida Work in the Americas Series. University of Florida Press.

Book Chapters

  • Opie, F.D. (2016). “Clifford Bourne” : Oxford Dictionary of Caribbean and Afro-Latin American Biography. Oxford Dictionary of Caribbean and Afro-Latin American Biography. link
  • Opie, F.D. (2014). Influence, Sources, and African Diaspora Foodways : Food in Time and Place: The American Historical Association Companion to Food History. Page: 188-208. University of California Press .
  • Opie, F.D. (2012). Alcohol and Lowdown Culture in Caribbean Guatemala and Honduras, 1898-1922: Distilling the Influence of Alcohol: Aguardiente in Guatemalan History. Page: 96-119. The University of Florida Press.

Other

  • Opie, F.D. (2015). “Zora Neale Hurston on Floridian Food and Culture” . Vol: xxxi, Issue: No 2, Page: 15. Repast, The Quarterly Publication of the Culinary Historians of Ann Arbor. link

Presentations

  • “Food Justice Through History” Opie, F. It’s Just Food: A Food Justice Symposium, Phillips Andover Academy (2019)
  • “The Sandwich Brigade and the 1963 March on Washington” Opie, F. Boston Public Library Lecture Series, Boston Public Library, Boston, Massachusetts, (2017)
  • "Sustenance in the Struggle for Freedom" Opie, F. Lecture, Atlanta, Georgia (2017)
  • “Afro Pacific Foodways: From Africa to America” Opie, F. Lecture Series, Evanston, Illinois (2017)
  • Center for the Study of Culture Race & Ethnicity Beyond Community Discussion Series Opie, F. Beyond Community Discussion Series, Ithaca College (2016)
  • Food Justice, Race + Design Panel Opie, F. Black and Design Conference , Cambridge, Massachusetts (2015)
  • “Zora Neale Hurston’s Work on Food-Based Prescriptions for Illnesses: A History” Opie, F. Book Event, Manhattan, NY (2015)
  • “The Culinary World of a Literary Icon: Zora Neale Hurston,” Opie, F. October Meeting , Brooklyn (2015)
  • “Earthenware: A History of Table Traditions and Related Recipes” Opie, F. Annual Meeting , Rhode Island (2015)
  • Panel Discussion, I contributed remarks on molasses history Opie, F. "The African American Experience: Nourishing The Soul Through Music and Food", Boston (2015)
  • Black and Latino Coalitions, the 1960s to Today Opie, F. Boston University, Boston, MA (2014)
  • Atlantic World Foodways Through the Lens of Zora Neale Hurston Opie, F. Atlantic World Foodways: The Carolina Lowcountry, Africa, Italy and Spain, Greensboro, NC (2014)
  • Gender, Food and Culture in American History Opie, F. Harvard University, Cambridge, MA (2013)
  • Stumping and Eating: Latino Voters and the Role of Food in 2012 Race to the White House Opie, F. University of Maryland, College Park, MD (2012)
  • Ethnic Borderlands and the Politics of Food in New City 1959 to 1989 Opie, F. Food and the City Conference, Boston, MA (2012)
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