Across Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions, food laws and dining practices aren’t just about what’s eaten—they shape who belongs, who doesn’t, and how communities draw boundaries. In this class, we’ll explore how these three traditions think differently about sharing meals across lines of difference—and why those differences still matter today.

David Freidenreich studies how premodern Christians, Jews, and Muslims understood one another — because many of these ideas continue to shape contemporary attitudes and interactions. His award-winning first book, Foreigners and Their Food: Constructing Otherness in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Law, explores attitudes toward adherents of foreign religions expressed in ancient and medieval laws about sharing food. He's the Pulver Family Professor of Jewish Studies at Colby College, where he serves as chair of the Jewish studies department and associate director of the Center for Small Town Jewish Life.