The Emergence of National Food: The Dynamics of Food and Nationalism (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781350074132)

What do deep fried mars bars, cod, and Bulgarian yoghurt have in common? Each have become symbolic foods with specific connotations, located to a very specific place and country.

This book explores the role of food in society as a means of interrogating the concept of the nation-state and its sub-units, and reveals how the nation-state in its various disguises has been and is changing in response to accelerated globalisation. The chapters investigate various stages of national food: its birth, emergence, and decline, and why sometimes no national food emerges. By collecting and analysing a wide range of case studies from countries including Portugal, Mexico, the USA, Bulgaria, Scotland, and Israel, the book illustrates ways in which various social forces work together to shape social and political realities concerning food.

The contributors, hailing from anthropology, history, sociology and political science, investigate the significance of specific food cultures, cuisines, dishes, and ingredients, and their association with national identity. In so doing, it becomes clearer how these two things interact, and demonstrates the scope and direction of the current study of food and nationalism.

Author: Atsuko Ichijo
ISBN-10: 1350074136
ISBN-13: 9781350074132
Publisher: Continnuum-3PL
Language: English
Published: 02/21/2019
Pages: 224
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.00lbs
Size: 9.40h x 6.30w x 0.60d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 10/01/2019