Transcript why food? - University of Minnesota Duluth

© 2010-2013
one item you will see often
(and often repeated)
is that American Anthropology
traditionally has a four-fold
approach to the study of humans
and closely related species
these four fields include . . .
American Anthropology
• cultural / social
• physical
• archaeology
• linguistics
so why study
the Anthropology of Food?
Ryan Adams
of IUPUI
(Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis)
best summarized the case . . .
so why study
the Anthropology of Food?
Ryan Adams
of IUPUI
(Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis)
best summarized the case . . .
why food?
“Food is required by every human on
earth, yet the types of food we eat and
how we produce and consume it vary
tremendously. It is therefore a nearly
perfect subject for anthropology, since
it can be examined in terms of human
biology, culture, and social status
across time from our evolutionary
ancestors to the present day. . . .”
-- Ryan Adams, IUPUI Anthropology
and the folks
at the University of Indiana
(Bloomington, IN)
should know . . .
they offer a Ph.D.
in the Anthropology of Food
http://www.indiana.edu/~anthro/food_flash.html
and lots of people
at a lot of places
find these topics interesting . . .
There have been 84,000
page views of the UMD
Anthropology of Food
WebPages in just a little over a
year . . .
Gustavus Adolphus
Harvard
Princeton
Berkeley
Michael Pollan
Author of your Textbook
The Omnivore’s Dilemma
TED
Buckingham Palace
The White House
and a bandwagon of personalities
And lots of people
find these topics interesting . . .
There have been almost
a quarter million
page views of the UMD
Anthropology of Food
WebPages in the last three years .
..
223,760
so . . . we’re going to have a look at . . .
so . . . we’re going to have a look at . . .
Food
and its . . .
• cultural / social
• physical
• archaeology
• linguistics
aspects
and you’ll visit these same four
fields as you go through your
texts . . .
. . . and as you go through
your other class materials . . .
and you’ll visit these fields with
your term project . . .
http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/anthfood/afproject.html
But more on this later . . .
http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/anthfood/afproject.html
and to study food in this tradition
there are a few basic
characteristics of anthropology to
keep in mind . . .
Main Characteristics
1.
the four fields of general anthropology
2.
culture as a primary concept
3.
comparative method as major
approach to the study of human behavior
4.
holism or the study of "humankind" as a
whole, as a primary theoretical goal
5.
fieldwork as a primary research
technique, involving “participant observation”
Main Characteristics
1.
the four fields of general anthropology
2.
culture as a primary concept
3.
comparative method as major
approach to the study of human behavior
more on this later . . .
4.
holism or the study of "humankind" as a
whole, as a primary theoretical goal
5.
fieldwork as a primary research
technique, involving “participant observation”
finally, to round off our theoretical
perspectives, we’ll have a brief
look at . . .
a few
“Other Important Terms”
including . . .
a few
“Other Important Terms”
including . . .
1. ethnocentrism
2. cultural relativism
• absolute cultural relativism
• critical cultural relativism
3. “multiple cultural worlds”
a few
“Other Important Terms”
including . . .
1. ethnocentrism
2. cultural
relativism
more
on this later . . .
• absolute cultural relativism
• critical cultural relativism
3. “multiple cultural worlds”
and
“Units of Analysis”
including . . .
“units of analysis” may include:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
one person
the family
the community
a region
a “culture area”
a culture / “subculture”
a nation
the world
an item or action itself
a “cultural metaphor”
“units of analysis” may include:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
one person
the family
the community
a region
a “culture area”
More
on /this
later . . .
a
culture
“subculture”
a nation
the world
an item or action itself
a “cultural metaphor”
and we’ll have a brief look at
Three Major Perennial Debates
including . . .
three major contemporary debates
1. Biological Determinism
vs. Cultural Constructionism
2. Ideationism vs. Cultural Materialism
3. Individual Agency vs. Structuralism
(“free will” vs. “power structures”)
three major contemporary debates
1. Biological Determinism
vs. Cultural Constructionism
2. Ideationism vs. Cultural Materialism
more on this later . . .
3. Individual Agency vs. Structuralism
(“free will” vs. “power structures”)
and so, to study the
Anthropology of Food
in the American Anthropological
tradition we’ll consider the items you
see listed in the Week 1 “Topics” . . .
and so, to study food in the American
Anthropological tradition we’ll further consider the
items you see listed in the
Week 1 “Topics” . . .
and the listing for Week 1 will look something like this . . .
And the listing for Week 1 will look something like this . . .
And the listing for Week 1 will look something like this . . .
And the listing for Week 1 will look something like this . . .
And the listing for Week 1 will look something like this . . .
we’ll go there and continue our
explorations . . .
cheers!
http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/anthfood/#title
© 2010-2013