When asked why a professor or student should spend a semester studying a peculiarity of human consumption, Huggan says he wanted to explore cannibalism as a metaphor in modern society.

"I came up with the idea because I wanted to inquire why cannibal metaphors are so prevalent in contemporary society," Huggan explains. "And also I wanted to examine the status of cannibalism as cultural myth which has been used in the past to justify imperial conquest and more recently has been used as an alibi for the success of modern consumer society."

Huggan says the class, which is taught for the first time this year, has a serious point, above and beyond studying cannibals for the sake of that study.

"What I am interested in is how the cultural myth has been used over time to try to test and gauge the boundaries of civilization and barbarity," he says.

"I'm less interested in cannibalism as the social practice than in the myth and how it functions in cultural and historical factors," he says. "For example, we might discuss how the myth and various metaphors that circle around the figure of the cannibal can be used to explore consumer society."

Huggan said the debate about consumer society was one topic that had received extensive discussion in class.

As another example, Huggan cites the "apparent fascination with cannibals and how cannibalism is used as a method of articulating the current fears of the body."

Some students in the class agree that they are fascinated with the focus on cannibals as metaphor.

"I don't think it's cannibals [for the sake of studying cannibals] because it hasn't been studied before," said James J. McNamara, a senior English concentrator writing his thesis on horror. "There are some interesting ways of looking at cannibal as metaphor."

As an example of metaphor, McNamara cites sexual domination or an expression of violence.

But other students interviewed were not convinced the class succeeded in focusing on cannibalism as metaphor.

"I don't think [there is a point] or I have not found one yet or maybe that is just me," says Elisabeth B. Winterkorn '98. "I have been thinking a lot about this class. I'm only halfway through the semester but as of yet I haven't found a larger theme."

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But larger point or no, all of the students interviewed say they are enjoying the course.

"It's very interesting," says Caitlin A. Roxby '98. "The reading is very varied, and I find the topic very interesting because I think all areas of taboo in society create interesting questions."