Socially Constructed Food Expectations
Courtesy of The New York Public Library
Arjun Appadurai’s theory of gastro-politics as a tool for explaining food related scene's that I find myself returning to as scholar of food history. A gastro-political interpretive framework requires discussing each party's internal conversation about socially constructed food expectations and how one responds when one meets or doesn’t meet those expectations. The theory requires a discussion about what each side involved expects and believe is an acceptable response as it relates to food. For example, in your childhood experience, who did the grocery shopping? Who cooked most of the meals? What about those cooked inside vs outside when hosting a cookout? Who got served first, who cleared the table?
