Description
Book SynopsisTracing the intertwined roles of food, ethnicity, and regionalism in the construction of American identity, this textbook examines the central role food plays in our lives. Drawing on a range of disciplines_including sociology, anthropology, folklore, geography, history, and nutrition_the editors have selected a group of engaging essays to help students explore the idea of food as a window into American culture. The editors'' general introductory essay offers an overview of current scholarship, and part introductions contextualize the readings within each section. This lively reader will be a valuable supplement for courses on American culture across the social sciences.
Trade ReviewThis rich compilation of articles—expertly framed by the editors' insightful introduction and valuable bibliography—examines the culture, ethnicity, socioeconomics, geography, and demography of American food in all its distinct yet delightfully untidy forms. The Taste of American Place will be of interest not only to food scholars and students, but to the general reader who loves to eat and loves to explore the abundant array of foods we call American. -- Amy Bentley, associate professor, Nutrition, Food Studies, Public Health, New York University
A marvelous collection of seminal articles on American foodways. This anthology will delight and enlighten food scholars and general readers alike. -- Warren Belasco, University of Maryland Baltimore County and author of Appetite for Change: How the Counterculture Took on the Food Industry
The Taste of American Place stews over these questions and simmers with provocative arguments, delightful information, accessible prose and an inherent sense of fun and adventure rarely found in academic works. More important, the Shortridges' book will dramatically change the way you think and talk about food. -- Mark Luce * Kansas Alumni Magazine *
This book is a marvelous read for students of geography and food analysis. * The Cookbook Collectors Exchange, April/May 1998 *
The Taste of American Place facilitates the development of our understanding that although we must eat, we eat particular foods in certain ways for complex cultural reasons. -- R. Mark Livengood, Leelanau Historical Museum, Michigan * Western Folklore *
At last! This volume truly does fill a serious gap. The Shortridges have a uniquely broad command of the literature, and their choices are admirable. -- Wilbur Zelinsky, The Pennsylvania State University
The editors should be applauded for their contribution to the cultural geographer's bookshelf. * The Geographical Review *
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Introduction: Food and American Culture Part 2 Regional Foods Chapter 3 Pasties in Michigan's Upper Peninsula: Foodways, Interethnic Relations, and Regionalism Chapter 4 Rocky Mountain Oysters Chapter 5 Loco Moco: A Folk Dish in the Making Chapter 6 The Cincinnati Chili Culinary Complex Chapter 7 A Pound of Kenya, Please, or a Single Short Skinny Mocha Chapter 8 The Maine Lobster as Regional Icon: Competing Images over Time and Social Class Chapter 9 Patterns of American Rice Consumption 1955 and 1980 Chapter 10 Food-Place Associations on American Product Labels Chapter 11 The Compiled Cookbook as Foodways Autobiography Part 12 Ethnic Foods Chapter 13 Introduction: On Ethnic Foodways Chapter 14 Bierocks and Back for More Bierocks Chapter 15 Cajuns and Crawfish Chapter 16 Playing with Food: The Negotiation of Identity in the Ethnic Display Event by Italian Americans in Clinton, Indiana Chapter 17 New York Jews and Chinese Food: The Social Construction of an Ethnic Pattern Part 18 Eating Out Chapter 19 Eating Out in South Carolina's Cities: The Last Fifty Years Chapter 20 The Geography of Food in Eastern Oklahoma: A Small Restaurant Study Chapter 21 From Pushcart to Modular Restaurant: The Diner on the Landscape Chapter 22 Fast Foods: American Food Regions Chapter 23 You Are Where You Eat
