Christy Shields-Argelès

Christy Shields-Argelès is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication, Media and Culture at the American University of Paris (AUP), specializing in cultural anthropology with expertise in food systems and sensory perception across France and the United States.

Her academic credentials include:

• PhD in Social Anthropology and Sociology, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (2012)
• DEA in Social Anthropology, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (2000)
• MPhil in Cultural Anthropology and French Studies, New York University (1997)
• BA in Political Science and French, Northwestern University (1992)
• Diplôme d’Etudes Françaises, Université de Franche-Comté (1991)

Her research investigates how sensory practices—particularly cooperative tasting rituals like the Comté cheese jury terroir—forge connections between people, place, and product while resisting industrial standardization. She conceptualizes taste as a transformative social practice that builds collective capacity for innovation and resistance within artisanal food systems, emphasizing sensory language and embodied cognition as tools for preserving cooperative governance.

Analysis of her publications reveals consistent exploration of sensory ethnography as a methodology to document how taste diversity sustains cultural heritage, with recent work focusing on olfactory communication and pedagogical applications in food education. Her scholarship bridges anthropological theory and practical interventions in sustainable food systems.

Scientific recognition includes:

• AUP Excellence Award for the Comté Practicum (2017)
• Association for the Study of Food and Society Innovation Award (2018)

Dr. Shields-Argelès pioneered the Comté Practicum (2010-2020), a field-based program integrating ethnographic methods with cooperative cheese production, and co-developed AUP's Food Studies minor (2024-25). Through the Civic Media Lab, she co-created participatory projects including 'Food without Borders'—a cross-cultural initiative with Parisian students—and 'Madeleine Shorts', a digital storytelling platform fostering civic engagement through food narratives.

Her collaborative work extends to the Interdisciplinary Institute of Contemporary Anthropology (IIAC/CNRS) and the Médias et médiations de la gastronomie research group, where she examines media representations of gastronomic heritage.