Published by the American Studies program at American University
Fall 2008
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Katharina Vester,
Introduction: The Meanings of Food
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Jasmine Dawn Samuel,
New Ethnicities: Caribbean Cuisine and Identity (pdf)
Caribbean food in Washington, D.C. presents a diverse spectrum of flavors,
ingredients and dishes that are combined in unique ways culturally specific
to the different island nations. At the same time, this cuisine has been influenced
by the local consumer and U.S. mainstream concepts of acceptable types of food
as well as stereotypes of the tropics. This article analyzes the menu descriptions
and other ways local Caribbean establishments work to create a sense of authenticity,
and finds that it is up to the consumer to inscribe their roti, patty or red
snapper with context and meaning—just as the Caribbean natives, colonizers,
and other settlers mixed cultures to create a familiar but new culinary identity.
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Andrew Corcoran,
Taking a Big Bite Out of the Food Network:
The Importance of Masculinity in Food Programming (pdf)
Male hosts have dominated television as news anchors and talk show hosts for decades, but what about a network devoted to the feminine domain of the kitchen? Perhaps surprisingly, men have come to dominate the Food Network as well, playing a highly visible role in a realm connoted as feminine, and in a medium that exaggerates gender differences. This article demonstrates how TV food programming carefully cultivates a culturally safe depiction of masculinity.
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Gus Zimmerman,
The Queer Dish: Gay Cookbooks after Stonewall (pdf)
Like all cultures, gay and lesbian culture has been reaffirmed through its cookbooks. This article analyzes significant changes in queer cookbooks since the Stonewall Rebellion of 1969, as they have helped carve out a uniquely queer culinary space in opposition to the heteronormative views presented in mainstream cookbooks. The author identifies three key themes that recur in this genre: queer hospitality, queer dishes, and queer politics and activism. The article serves as an example of how minority communities can use the cookbook to transgress and redefine traditional boundaries.
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Cassandra Passinault,
You Know You're a Redneck if ... Road Kill
Is Not a Joke (pdf)
The practice of hitting and killing an animal with a vehicle has been around since the first wheels hit the first road, and U.S. drivers annually collide with an estimated 1.5 million deer alone. A select breed of diner, popularly stereotyped as the "redneck," has provided a niche market for an unusual genre, the road kill cookbook. This article examines how authors have used humor as a defense against the negative stereotyping of rural culture even as they claim pride in a renegade role that celebrates a cuisine that makes mainstream society recoil.
