Resource Guide: Food and Society

Resource Guide in:

Food and Society

Introduction The study of food and society is increasingly recognised to be one that can make a significant contribution to our understanding of the context within which the production and consumption of commercial food and beverages takes place. However, within the hospitality management subject area, there are few specific texts that cover the territory. Instead, texts and resources that can contribute relevant theoretical frameworks to support the study of food and society are to be found in a range of fields of study. The following annotated bibliography lists some examples of texts and learning resources that have been found useful in designing and delivering courses in this subject area at honours and masters level. They are by no means either definitive or final. Annotated bibliography Mennell, S (1985) All Manner of Foods; Oxford: Blackwell (Chapter 1 introduction) Mennell, S, Murcott, A and van Otterloo, A (1992) The Sociology of Food: Eating, Diet and Culture; London: Sage. (Chapter 1 - Introduction: Significance and Theoretical Orientations) Wood, R (1995) The Sociology of the Meal; Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. (Chapter 1- Food and Social Theory: States of the Art)

These three books are all concerned with the analysis and interpretation of activities surrounding the production and consumption of food and drink. They have been selected particularly for the important contributions of their first chapters. All three clearly introduce, explain and evaluate the theoretical approaches that can be used to identify, classify and make sense of the significance of everyday human food behaviours. All three authors focus attention upon the role of two contrasting but key theoretical frameworks: structuralism and developmentalism. Structuralism argues that cultural meanings are derived from the character of the structural relations that underpin all social activities, whereas developmentalism suggests that cultural tastes and behaviour change over time as a result of the developments that have occurred in previous generations. Each of these chapters offers an assessment of the role and applications of both theories. The strength of structuralism is shown to be in its ability to identify and interpret the cultural meanings embedded in food choices and behaviours, and the authors illustrate how this interpretative process is relevant to the study of food and society. At the same time, a significant weakness in structuralist theory is recognised to be its neglect of the issue of change over time. The authors move on to examine the analytical frameworks of developmentalism. In contrast to structuralism, these approaches focus on the identification
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of the process of social change, which is seen to be the mechanism that determines cultural preferences. Thus, the developmentalist approach offers the potential to understand why and how meanings attached to food and dining have come to be as they are. Structuralism and developmentalism are presented as two contrasting analytical frameworks that can be used in combination, to offer increased insight and understanding of the complex role of food in society. Examples of key exponents of each approach are given within the context of the study of food: Claude Levi Strauss; Roland Barthes; Pierre Bourdieu; Mary Douglas; Norbert Elias; Stephen Mennell; Marvin Harris. Adair, G (1986) Myths and Memories; London: Fontana. Barthes, R (1983) Chopsticks and Food Decentred in Empire of Signs; London: Jonathon Cape Barthes, R (1993) Wine and Milk, Steak and Chips in Mythologies; London: Vintage Coward, R (1984) Female Desire: Womens Sexuality Today; London: Paladin. Douglas, M (1972) Deciphering a Meal, Daedulus Studio International Vol 101, (1). pp 61-81, reprinted in Douglas, M (1975) Implicit Meanings: Essays in Anthropology, pp 249-275; London: Routlege & Kegan Paul

These texts all provide important examples of how structuralist analyses can applied to food subjects. The work of Barthes, Adair, Coward and Douglas demonstrates how seemingly taken for granted, everyday food substances and practices are as heavy with significance as with cooking oil (Adair, 1986). These food practices can be deconstructed by the application of structuralist approaches, such as semiotic theory, to identify their cultural meanings and social significance in society. Elias, N (1994) The Civilizing Process: The History Of Manners And State Formation and Civilization; Oxford: Basil Blackwell, Mennell, S (1985) All Manner of Foods; Oxford: Blackwell Harris, M (1986) Good to Eat: Riddles of Food and Culture; New York: Simon and Schuster, Harris, M (1975) Cows, Pigs, Wars, & Witches: the Riddles of Culture; New York: Vintage Books.

These are important examples of developmentalist approaches applied to the search for the determinants of food tastes and behaviour. Within the developmental model, Elias work offers a seminal application of his figurational or sociogenetic approach to developments in the Middle Ages. He demonstrates how the reconfiguration of political, economic, technological and social changes in the medieval period led to significant changes in appetite, manners and food consumption norms. Significantly, Elias research identified conflict and competition as the major force for cultural and social development. Mennell adopts a similar approach in his comparative discussion of the tastes of England and France from the Middle Ages until today. The work of Harris offers us another version of the developmental approach, known as materialist. Harris supports the argument that cultural preferences emerge as a result of largely unplanned social conflicts. However, he goes further to suggest these conflicts continue until a solution is selected that fits the overall ecological context of the society at that time. His use of the term ecological context includes physical, political, economic and social considerations. Importantly, Harris model also offers an explanation for food taboos. He suggests that once the solutions are identified, they are perpetuated by powerful

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symbolism and internalised repugnance that is perceived to be culturally coherent at the time but may appear to be arbitrary and irrational at a later date. Featherstone, M (1991) Consumer Society and Post Modernism; London: Sage

This is a very significant work that identifies and examines production and consumption in the modern post industrialised world, to provide a contextualising theoretical framework for the study of food and society. In its discursive overview, Featherstone identifies and examines a wide range of conceptual approaches, and teases out their relevance to an understanding of society. Featherstone tracks the developments and reconfigurations of key political, economic, technological and social developments of the last century or so, and considers the implications of these changes for contemporary cultural life: the nature of production; work; cultural consumption; changing class identities; constructions of taste; communications and globalisation; situated and mediated cultures; the consumption of signs; lifestyle. At the same time, he demonstrates how structuralist analyses can access the real meanings that are attached to the symbolic productions of cultural life, and, in particular, the meanings associated with production and consumption practices. With these theoretical frameworks, Featherstone provides an approach that gives insights to the complexity of the context within which food and hospitality are produced and consumed. Featherstones work is comprehensive with a vast range of references that make it an invaluable tool for the tutor. However, its breadth and depth of argument does make it a challenging resource for undergraduate students. Barker, C (2000) Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice; London: Sage

Chapters 4 and 5 of this relatively new text offer a clear discussion of the developments that occurred in the last 100 years and their impact upon the reconfiguration of modern westernised industrial societies. It strength lies in its clarity and accessibility for all readers, and in its ability to integrate a discussion of the range of factors that have contributed to the current notion of contemporary culture. Telfer, E (1996) Food for Thought: Philosophy and Food; London: Routledge

This is a delightful book that is concerned with philosophical debates about the nature of food and dining. It raises questions about the moral and ethical issues underpinning our attitudes and practices to food production and consumption in the modern industrialised world. Issues covered include: food and pleasure; the concept of hospitality; food duties and obligations; hunger and the hungry; food as art. Gronow, J (1997) The Sociology of Taste; London: Routledge

This is a text that focuses entirely upon a concept that is central to an understanding of the function of food in society, that of taste. Although these issues are addressed in part in a number of texts, Gronow offers a comprehensive survey of the philosophical and sociological dimensions of taste and considers the ideas of leading theoreticians in this area: Veblen, Simmel and Bourdieu, amongst others. Using examples, many of which are food related, the discussion involves an analysis of the philosophical issues of taste and aesthetics; considers the factors involved in defining a concept of good taste; discusses the

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corruption of taste and the development of kitsch; and considers the role of taste in fashion and style. Gronows distillation of key conceptual frameworks appropriate to the study of the function of taste in food choice and behaviour makes a significant contribution to the study of food in society. Sloan, D (Ed)(2004) Culinary Taste: Consumer Behavior in the International Restaurant sector; Oxford: Elsevier: Butterworth -Heinemann.

This is a very welcome addition to the texts available on the topic of taste as it offers a range of debates about the concept of taste in the culinary arena. The first two chapters, the Social Construction of Taste and the Postmodern Palate are particularly useful for students in their clear examination and explanation of the social construction of taste and post modernism in relation to food and dining out. Seymour's first chapter examines the concept of the social construction of taste and the work of Pierre Bourdieu. Although students should tackle these themes in the original seminal version (Bourdieu see below), Seymour carefully and clearly examines and explains Bourdieu's arguments about the construction of taste and its dependency upon socio-economic class hierarchies displayed via culinary consumption practices. This chapter gives the student clear insights into the complexity of Bourdieu's arguments in areas such as the role of taste as a signifier of class distinctions, the acquisition of taste as a goal for the social aspirant, and cultural legitimacy and its role in establishing dominant taste ideologies. The concept of post modernism and its implications for the significance of culinary consumption behaviors are explored in both chapter 2 and 3. In Chapter 2, Sloan examines the function of taste in postmodern societies where it is suggested that self-identity rather than traditional class adherences may dominate consumer decision-making. Chapter 3 by Bell, Taste and Space: eating out in the city today, examines the symbolic role of dining out in post industrial economies and demonstrates how diners acquire cultural capital and enhanced self identity via the urban dining out lifestyle. He also identifies and examines the issue of choice and consumer anxiety; and of authenticity and fashionability. Finkelstein's chapter 4, Chic cuisine: the impact of fashion on food develops issues of fashionability and taste further by examining the significance of food and dining out in the post modern era in terms of its aesthetics, fashionability and sophistication rather than organoleptic culinary appreciation. Other chapters all make a valuable contribution covering issues of taste and health, lifestyle and gender, as well as the role of the commercials restaurant industry in shaping consumer tastes. Bourdieu, P (1992) Distinction: a Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste; London: Routledge

This is a seminal text, although it is not always easy to read and is probably best approached by students after some initial work in the area. Bourdieus adoption of a structuralist approach, albeit one with a Marxist influence, is based upon empirical research in France which sought to identify the relationship between cultural tastes, consumption patterns and class. Bourdieus theory argues that consumption patterns demonstrate taste through the disposition of symbolic capital, which is determined by the consumers class, lifestyle (habitus) and occupation. He argues that those with significant symbolic capital are the arbiters of good taste. Although Bourdieu recognises that symbolic capital could be increased through education, he raises questions about the importance of instinct and

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embodiment of habitus for the authentic demonstration of distinction, the lack of which will betray the autodidact or parvenu. He also identifies the new and particular role of the media in the consumption process that has, in turn, created an important new class fraction, the petit bourgeoisie. Bourdieus theory of the construction of taste offers an important conceptual framework for better understanding of the formation and function of food tastes and behaviours. Warde, A (1997) Consumption Food and Taste; London: Sage

This is a good introductory reader, where the concepts of taste and food behaviours are debated from the perspective of culinary antinomies and commodity culture. The debate includes a consideration of key concepts: consumption, food and taste; new manners of food, novelty and tradition; health and indulgence; economy and extravagance; convenience and care. Beardsworth, A and Keil, T (1997) Sociology on the Menu; London: Routledge

Like Wardes book, this is another of the limited number of texts that are explicitly concerned with the sociology of food, and it also makes a good introductory reader. It provides a focussed synthesis of existing sociological explanations of food beliefs and practices, including a chapter on theoretical approaches. Areas covered in the discussion include: the modern food system; eating out; food and family; food scares and perceived risks; diet health and body image; the meanings of meat and vegetarianism Finkelstein, J (1989) Dining Out; Cambridge: Polity Press

Dining Out is one of a very few sociological analyses of the cultural functions of contemporary dining out. Although the evidence is largely based on the USA experience and less up to date than desirable, Finkelsteins synthesis of empirical observations and relevant theories make this a significant contribution to our understanding of the functions of commercial dining out. Finkelstein offers a useful analytical framework by which the different types of dining out can be categorised. An application of this typology allows issues and characteristics not previously identified or well understood, to become more explicit and significant. Finkelstein also demonstrates how it is possible to identify the significance associated with the characteristics of different types of restaurant, to access the specific cultural meanings attached to the consumption of different sorts of dining out. In addition, Finkelstein suggests that a central and significant activity of contemporary dining out is the consumption of emotions as commodities: romance, luxury, self-esteem; social status. In turn, she argues, this commodification has implications for the development of manners, etiquette and concepts of civility and hospitality, as well as for potential new roles for restaurants. Tolson, A (1996) Mediations; London: Arnold OSullivan, T, Dutton, B and Rayner, P (1994) Studying the Media; London: Arnold

Both these books clearly introduce a discussion of the increasingly significant role of the media. The authors outline the characteristics of modern media driven societies, and demonstrate how the increased role of the media has important implications for the
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development of cultural norms and behaviour. Drawing upon theoretical orientations from media and cultural studies, the discussion offers the reader a basic understanding of the ways in which the media present and circulate their messages for maximum audience consumption. The authors demonstrate how media messages transmit important meanings concealed beneath the obvious surface, and provide the analytical tools by which these messages can be deconstructed to tease out these significant underlying meanings. Barthes, R (1993) Ornamental Cookery in Mythologies; London: Vintage Barthes, R (1977) The Rhetoric of the Image in Image- Music- Text; Glasgow: Fontana pp 33-5 Coward, R (1984) Female Desire: Womens Sexuality Today; London: Paladin Randall, S (1999) Television Representations of Food: a case study of Rick Steins Taste of the Sea International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research: The Surrey Quarterly, Vol 1, (1) pp 41-55. Strange, N (1998) Perform, Educate, Entertain: Ingredients of the Cookery Programme Genre, in C, Geraghty, and D, Lusted (eds) The Television Studies Book, London: Edward Arnold

These are all examples of analyses of media presentations on food and beverage topics: food advertisements; journal articles; television food programmes. Each of these research papers/essays demonstrates how very specific cultural messages about food and drink are produced from seemingly anodyne and uncontroversial media presentations. In addition, and importantly, they all identify the particular discourses that the media adopt to ensure that their messages are unwittingly and uncritically accepted by audiences and thus assimilated into their cultural practice. Wood, R (ed) (2000) Strategic Questions in Food and Beverage Management; London: Butterworth-Heinemann

This recent publication contains a number of chapters that make a notable contribution to the debates surrounding the social functions of food and dining out. Chapters 2 and 3 consider the requirements of food and beverage customers and the issues surrounding the dining out meal experience respectively. In chapter 11, the theme of class and food snobbery is considered in relation to the aestheticisation of food. Chapter 14 also contributes to the debate on taste and class in dining out, but in this case, with reference to restaurant dress codes and food snobbery. Chapter 6 introduces a debate on how the media influence the public taste for food and dining, which is developed further in chapter 7 with a discussion of the role of food journalism, and in chapter 10, with an analysis of the significance of television celebrity chefs. Annotated Guide to Journals and Periodicals The study of food and society is not neatly reflected in academic journals as a discrete subject area. There is a range of journals in the food, hospitality management, service management, and consumer studies subject areas that include sociological perspectives.

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Resource Guide: Food and Society

British Food Journal The BFJ is probably the most useful journal reference for the study of food and society. It is a multidisciplinary research journal which covers every area of food related topics. The BFJ appears 11 times a year. Hospitality and Tourism Research: The Surrey Quarterly (4 editions per year) International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management (7 editions per year) International Journal of Hospitality Management (4 editions per year) Hospitality Research Journal (4 editions per year) These are the key research journals in the area of hospitality, and they all have a management orientation. However, some of the most significant research findings into specific sociological aspects of food and beverage management are published here. Journal of Consumer Culture This is a new publication, which already appears to offer fertile ground for the study of food and society: for example, in Vol 1, (2): The hidden injuries of media power by Nick Couldry; and Consuming Kitchens by Dave Southerton. There will be 3 editions per year. Culture, Media and Society (6 editions per year) Theory, Culture and Society (6 editions per year Journals from fields of study such as cultural studies, media studies and sociology often contain articles dealing with important conceptual areas that inform the study of food and society. http://www.emeraldinsight.com/ This web site is inserted here because it is an important site where a very wide range of multidisciplinary academic journal articles can be sourced electronically with full text facilities.

Annotated guide to web resources There is a wide range of sites that can be relevant to this subject area. Some are what might be termed lifestyle sites, offering access to a large volume of media material about food and dining that is in the public domain: restaurant reviews; reports; discussion groups, chefs profiles; etc. Others of great value to students are the web sites for restaurants located throughout the world. The visual components of these sites, in particular, offer students the opportunity for a vivid simulated experience of dining out in situations from which they would normally be excluded by virtue of location or expense. http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/ This is an important site for accessing contemporary and historical records of the medias reactions and views on food topics: restaurant reviews; food safety; food legislation; food personalities; health reports; etc.

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Resource Guide: Food and Society

http://www.which.com/foodanddrink/contents.html This site offers easy access to informed contemporary discussion as well as the results of consumer reports on controversial topics associated with food and drink: nutrition, food safety, diets, healthy eating, wine tasting, restaurants. http://www.epicurious.com/ This is an interesting and fun international site that covers all the essential contemporary issues of food and dining out, but with an international flavour: food; diet; restaurant reviews; recipes; television programmes; celebrations and festivals and so on. http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/ This is another useful site for easy access to contemporary broadcast television and radio products about food and dining. The site offer the user insights into issues such as health and diet, and recipes from the food programmes, but also gives details on the lives of top celebrity chefs and gives the user opportunities to ask them questions. http://dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Food_and_Drink/ This is a comprehensive site that demonstrates the sorts of food and society issues that are currently of general public interest. http://www.ritz.com/ http://www.savoy-group.co.uk/savoy/dining/dining.html http://www.savoy-group.co.uk/connaught/dining/dining.html http://www.fourseasonsrestaurant.com/1.html These are examples of UK and international sites that illustrate restaurants with the characteristics of Finkelsteins luxury formal fte spciale. Since the opportunities for students to experience this type of dining out for themselves are very limited, these web sites offer them a useful vicarious alternative. http://www.grandcanyonnorthrim.com/dining/default.htm http://www.rivercafe.com/ http://www.sydney-tower-restaurant.com/index.htm http://asiatravel.com/singapore/mandarin/v2.html http://www.tower-restaurant.com/main.html http://www.dine-online.co.uk/shouting.htm Here are some examples of UK and international restaurants whose spectacular locations qualify them for Finkelsteins category of the informal fte spciale. http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/7087431 http://www.kerrymenu.com/Gramercy-Tavern.htm http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globetrotter/topten_oct.html http://www.hardrock.com/locations/cafes/Cafes.asp?Lc=NEWY A range of restaurant sites from New York for cross-cultural reference. http://www.martin-wishart.co.uk/home.html http://www.gordonramsay.com/ http://www.squaremeal.co.uk/uk/restaurant.cgi?rest=801 http://www.petit-blanc.com/le-manoir-aux-quat-saisons.htm Sites of British chef/proprietor owned restaurants, with Michelin stars, in Finkelsteins bistro mondain category.

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http://www.jamieoliver.net/index.htm http://www.rickstein.com/ http://www.garyrhodes.com/ http://www.deliaonline.com/ http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9803/29/two.fat.ladies/ These are examples of the sites promoted by contemporary UK television personality chefs and cooks. These are particularly useful formats as they give students access to the menus, food and interior design of some of the leaders in elite contemporary dining out provision which would otherwise not be possible.

Key words Food; drink; dining out; restaurants; society; culture; consumption; manners; etiquette; class; social status; media; television; cultural meaning; restaurant reviews; food guides; recipes; epicurianism; hedonism; gastronomes; structuralism; developmentalism; semiotics.

Additional resources Some of the most useful resources for the study of food in society are to be found in the food media. Besides food advertising, there is huge media industry producing a range of food related material that is consumed by very large audiences: television food programmes; radio food programmes; food journals; lifestyle journals; newspaper articles; restaurant reviews; food guides; supermarket promotional literature; recipe books, books accompanying the series; and so on. The high level of public consumption for these food media products is testimony to their acceptability. Analysis of the messages promoted in these food texts is an important source of information about the particular ideas and practices that are currently promoted, circulated and consumed. In addition, media products also provide important teaching material in the pursuit of greater understanding and more confident application of some of the more complex abstract concepts associated with the study of food and society. Concepts of cultural consumption; taste, style and fashion; characteristics of restaurants; hospitality; manners and etiquette; class and distinction; identity and belonging; and historical and cross cultural difference can all be explored and made more meaningful with the use of mediated experiences that simulate real life. These concepts can be found in television and radio programmes, for example soap operas, where food and beverage practices are important features of the story line. In addition, they are frequently found in mainstream cinema films such as Pretty Woman; Titanic; The Cook, The Thief, The Wife and The Lover; Pulp Fiction; Chocolat; Eat, Drink, Man, Woman; and so on. These media resources provide illuminating opportunities for students to develop and consolidate their studies into food and society, in ways that resonate with their own experiences. Teaching sessions This area of study is often a new one for hospitality management students. To facilitate the introduction of key concepts of the course, simulated media examples are used in association with a series of tutor led seminars. Topics covered include:

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Resource Guide: Food and Society

theoretical approaches for the study of food in society; cultural meanings and processes of change; post industrial society and consumer culture; the construction of taste; dining out and the commodification of emotions; dining out and the consumption of signs; restaurant typologies; the functions of the menu; food, society and the media

For example, the theories surrounding the role of taste, manners and class in food consumption, are grounded with an analysis of specific scenes from film such as Titanic or Pretty Woman. Historical and cross cultural insights into the functions of manners and etiquette and their relationship to social distinction and class, can be illuminated with a comparison of Erasmus (1530) treatise on table manners for German school boys or Castigliones (1528/1967) advice to Italian renaissance courtiers, with the homily on manners and breeding delivered in the first scene of The Cook, The Thief, The wife and The Lover. Similarly, the film, Pulp Fiction, vividly illustrates issues of cross cultural difference, food taboos and revulsion in the discussion of the use of mayonnaise rather than ketchup on fries, in one scene, as well as offering a perfect example of what Finkelstein (1989) would call a parodic restaurant in another. Other resources used in tutorials include a collection of slides that offer students additional vicarious experiences: for example, locations, exteriors and interiors of a wide range of restaurants and dining out experiences that demonstrate the concepts under discussion. Students are provided with guided reading from the literature for the course, and a series of notes relevant to the weekly topics. Assessment The suggestions for the assessment of a module of this type are designed for honours level students and incorporate the assessment of higher level graduate attributes as well as module content. The assessment is in two complementary parts. After the introductory series of tutor led seminars and tutorials, the students meet in small tutorial groups for student led seminar paper presentations. A list of assessment questions is available covering the range of topics for the course. Each student chooses a different question, presents a paper to the other members of his/her group, and takes responsibility for leading and managing the discussion. This means that every student is obliged to engage with the concepts of the course in the preparation for their own seminar presentation and the debates arising from their peers papers. In this way, self confidence is increased as the students practise using the challenging theoretical frameworks of the course. Marks in this section of the assessment are partly given for the clarity of the ideas presented so that the students are encouraged to look for ways to communicate key ideas meaningfully. Oral and written feedback is given on this presentation before the students attempt the second part of the assignment, which is to write up the question as a full academic essay. The range and quality of the arguments and evidence used by students in this second part of the assessment, and the authority in their handling of wide ranging and demanding material, have been enhanced by the additional experience and confidence derived from the presentation exercise.

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Resource Guide: Food and Society

About the Author Sandie Randall is a lecturer in the Department of Hospitality and Tourism at Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh. She has subject expertise in the domain of Food and Society, developing and applying this over the last ten years as a lecturer and active researcher. She has a strong interest in educational research and pedagogical approaches and is currently the learning and teaching co-ordinator for her department and an Institutional Representative for the LTSN. Her main research interests are in media representations of food and hospitality. She would be happy to receive any suggestions / additional material from those working in the area.

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