Food And Culture
Anthropology 104 Spring 2014
Paper Project -- Food, Culture and Kin/Social Organization
Food is both biologically important and culturally important. In all societies, in many different ways, food and eating relate to each other. Studying foodways – what people eat, how they prepare food, where and how they eat meals, how foods are used in rituals, and how people think about their food practices – can help us understand a great deal about the economy, social life, religious attitudes, and even aspects of another society by discovering and analyzing key features of the foodways and social/kin practices of members of that society.
Interviewing: Procedures and Focus
First, find an informant from a society other than your own. Explain to your informant what your assignment is, and ask her/him to assist you by talking with you about food, cooking, and eating in her/his native setting. Arrange a time and place for a relaxed, informal interview, which will probably take about one hour (PLEASE NOTE: a rushed, 10 minute chat in the Bluewall will not produce the type, quality, or quantity of information you need for this.) DURING THE INTERVIEW, BE SURE TO TAKE DETAILED NOTES. IF YOU PLAN TO USE A TAPE RECORDER, BE SURE TO ASK PERMISSION. BRING THE PERSMISSION SLIP FOR THE INTERVIEW WITH YOU. The focus of your interview and entire project should be the relation of food/food practices to kin/social organization, understanding that analysis of kin/social and food systems will aid you in seeing the whole cultural system. Your introduction to this information is your informant’s life experiences. Everyone has to eat. Remember to always allow the informant to fully describe food practices before asking any more questions.
Here are some SAMPLE questions that you might use in your interview: 1.Within your family or
Paper Project -- Food, Culture and Kin/Social Organization
Food is both biologically important and culturally important. In all societies, in many different ways, food and eating relate to each other. Studying foodways – what people eat, how they prepare food, where and how they eat meals, how foods are used in rituals, and how people think about their food practices – can help us understand a great deal about the economy, social life, religious attitudes, and even aspects of another society by discovering and analyzing key features of the foodways and social/kin practices of members of that society.
Interviewing: Procedures and Focus
First, find an informant from a society other than your own. Explain to your informant what your assignment is, and ask her/him to assist you by talking with you about food, cooking, and eating in her/his native setting. Arrange a time and place for a relaxed, informal interview, which will probably take about one hour (PLEASE NOTE: a rushed, 10 minute chat in the Bluewall will not produce the type, quality, or quantity of information you need for this.) DURING THE INTERVIEW, BE SURE TO TAKE DETAILED NOTES. IF YOU PLAN TO USE A TAPE RECORDER, BE SURE TO ASK PERMISSION. BRING THE PERSMISSION SLIP FOR THE INTERVIEW WITH YOU. The focus of your interview and entire project should be the relation of food/food practices to kin/social organization, understanding that analysis of kin/social and food systems will aid you in seeing the whole cultural system. Your introduction to this information is your informant’s life experiences. Everyone has to eat. Remember to always allow the informant to fully describe food practices before asking any more questions.
Here are some SAMPLE questions that you might use in your interview: 1.Within your family or