The Taste of American Place: A Reader on Regional and Ethnic Foods - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0847685071 ISBN 13: 9780847685073

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 1999

Synopsis

Tracing 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.

About this title

About the Author:

Barbara G. Shortridge is assistant professor of geography at the University of Kansas. James R. Shortridge is professor of geography at the University of Kansas.

Review:

This 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)

About this edition

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0847685071
• ISBN 13: 9780847685073
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 398
• Editor: Shortridge Barbara G., Shortridge James R.