Rachel Black

I am offering a new on-line course with a travel component in Fall 2012 at Boston University.

ML 639EL Culture & Cuisine: Québec

Moving beyond the stereotypes of poutine and maple syrup, this course will explore the rich contemporary and historical foodscapes of Québec. The cuisine of this predominantly French-speaking area of Canada has been marked by the lasting legacies of French, British and a variety of immigrant cultures. The result is a combination of fascinating traditions and some of the most exciting new culinary trends in the Northeast—from iced cider to head-to-tail eating. This course will look at questions of identity politics, heritage preservation and the development of sustainable local food systems, as well as the everyday culture and life of this unique Canadian province. Offered in a blended format, class will meet once a month face-to-face (optional – on-line format available for distance students) before and after a weeklong trip to Québec City, Montréal and surrounding rural areas. While in Québec, students will have a chance to meet farmers, artisans and culinary professionals and engage in a number of hands-on activities. Our guide in during the trip will be renowned Québecois food and wine journalist Rémy Charest.

I will be holding an interactive webinar about the course this Thursday, May 3. Register here.

Today I started fieldwork on a new anthropology of food project here in Boston. It is going to be an adventure as I explore the rumbling beast that is my GI tract through an Ayurvedic cleanse. Later, I will be listening to hear what my fellow cleanse participants have to say about their experiences in this process. For now, here is a synopsis of my research:

The act of eating and incorporating food (symbolically and physically) is one of the most important transformations in the everyday experience of nearly all humans. Through the digestion process the outside world is embodied and even transubstantiated. This paper will explore the possibility of considering the act of eating as a cultural process that does not end at cooking or at the point when food passes the lips. What about digestion? Anthropological research has paid little attention to the ways in which humans conceive of and experience digestion. Marked by cultural taboos, digestion and defecation are muffled rumblings of food consumption which go largely unmentioned and unstudied.

Once food enters the body it is no longer under the conscious control of the eater: the body takes over an internal, physical process that is obscured and largely uncontrolled (Mol, 2008). A physical process of inclusion and exclusion takes place as nutrients are absorbed and waste products are expelled. Based on participant observations and interviews of an Ayurvedic cleansing session in Boston, this research will consider how internal biological processes are culturally mediated and framed. First, ways of talking or not talking about digestion tell us a great deal about how cultures conceive and shape these hidden bodily processes. Second, the medicalization of certain foods and in particular Ayurvedic medical practices can be seen as cultural interventions on the interior process of digestion. This paper seeks to explore the inner and outer understandings of digestion and the cross-cultural interpretations of ways in which this process can be mediated.

Works cited:

Mol, Annemarie. (2008). “I Eat an Apple: On Theorizing Subjectivities.” Subjectivity, vol. 22:28-37

I will be taking part in a conversation on the concept of terroir in the humanities at Brown University’s Cogut Center for the Humanities. I am looking forward to discussing the idea of terroir with Edward Korry from Johnston & Wales. Please come and join us:

April 5, 2012, 5:30pm
Brown University, Cogut Center for the Humanities
Pembroke Hall 305
172 Meeting Street
Provicence, RI

The other night I introduced my class to the concept of foodmaps. Inspired by Lidia Marte’s work on this topic, we set out to spatially represent our foodways. Where does our food come from? How do we navigate the provisioning options that are available to us? What personal relations are shaped by the way we shop? What do we leave out of these maps? These are just a few of the questions that we asked as we commented on each other’s maps and interviewed each other focusing on provisioning practices.

This is an excellent research and study technique to bring greater spatial awareness to food systems. I would suggest giving it a try.

Food and the City Conference, February 24 – 25, 2012

Boston University, Photonics Center, Room 906

Food and the City, an initiative of Boston University’s History Department, is pleased to announce a two-day conference dedicated to a historical discussion about the relationship between food and cities. The event will encourage multi-disciplinary, global perspectives and explore how the history of feeding cities could inform the design and practices of urban food systems in the future.

For registration and program information click here