Date of Award
6-2023
Document Type
Masters Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Organizational Unit
College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, Anthropology
First Advisor
Alejandro Cerón
Second Advisor
Frederique Chevillot
Third Advisor
Dean J. Saita
Keywords
Anti-hunger, Commensality, Food-justice, Food-ways, Memory, Phenomenology
Abstract
To explore how systems of meaning are formed and reformed over an individual’s lifetime in the context of food, meals, and commensality, this research applies a critical phenomenological lens to food-centered life histories centered on the life experiences of childhood, adulthood and the diffusion of food knowledge within a food centric community between individuals within age cohorts and across generations. Through reflective interviewing community members within Denver metropolitan area anti-hunger organization, this research is able to provide insight into several secondary questions, including: Is childhood a formative space for the cementation of these systems of meaning and value and do they persist into adulthood? How are commensal relationships experienced between commensals within a food centric community? Twenty food centric interviews are utilized to draw out an understanding that while childhood is a locus for individual meaning creation, the ‘sturdiness’ of these relationships of meaning over time is observed to be linked closely to the memories surrounding food as a practice rather than a rhetorical process of indoctrination. Change in adulthood appears commonly associated to changing commensal roles such as those of parent, caregiver, spouse; or shifts in health, economic stability, or social contexts. Diffusion of food knowledge between commensals is seen to occur based on two key factors, opportunity and desirability as defined by each individual.
Copyright Date
6-2023
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
All Rights Reserved.
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Lucor Jordan
Provenance
Received from ProQuest
File Format
application/pdf
Language
English (eng)
Extent
178 pgs
File Size
983 KB
Recommended Citation
Jordan, Lucor, "What’s Good: Sharing Food and Meaning-Making Among Commensals" (2023). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2297.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2297
Discipline
Cultural anthropology