To Örebro University

Bildung is included in the educational philosophies of manyNordic universities, but there is so far little research on bildungwithin the discipline of Culinary Arts. Sustainable development ispartly a matter of phronesis, and can thus be explored bybildung. Identifying the characteristics of personal experiences ofbildung can bring light to key factors for a better understandingof how Culinary Arts education can act in the environmentalmovement.

Aristotle distinguished between verifiable theoretical knowledge,episteme, and judgeable practical wisdom, phronesis. However,phronesis is rarely in focus when higher education addressescritical societal issues such as sustainable development. Futuresocietal challenges will make it necessary to further stimulate thelearning of phronesis alongside the already well-establishedlearning of epistemic knowledge.Transformative learning is a pedagogical approach which can beaddressed by gastronomers in quest of sustainability. Based onhow epistemic knowledge corresponds with practical skills andartistic endeavor, Culinary Arts education can provide favorableconditions for phronesis to be learned by bildung.

This research project aims to explore how a greater emphasis onbildung can address societal issues in the higher education ofCulinary Arts. The aim of this particular case study is to put lighton students' experiences of phronesis in a bachelor’s course.In the course Development of Meal Experiences, 15 ECTScredits, the assignment is to develop, arrange and evaluate ameal on behalf of an external client, where sustainability isintended be a key approach to the work.

Data was collected through narrative methods. 30 students keptself-reflective logbooks throughout a 10-week-long bachelor’scourse, and additionally in-depth narrative interviews wereconducted with students after the course. The material wastranscribed and will be interpreted by using a phenomenologicalhermeneutic method. Two follow-up interviews with the samerespondents will take place, at the end of the bachelor’s programas well as six months afterwards.

For this study’s expected results, we will look for thesituations and moods in which students had their strongestexperiences of understanding sustainability from a, to them,new point of view. That is, we will explore the characteristicsof such eye-opening moments which has been shown crucialfor how phronesis is developed by bildung.