AAS3361: Asian Americans and Food

Asian Americans have always been intimately connected to food practices and institutions in the American imagination. Food is the medium through which Asian American cultural difference--including their status as "perpetual foreigners" or their "model minority character"—are typically expressed and disseminated. Historically, Asian migration to the United States was fueled by labor needs particularly in the agricultural sector. In addition, Asian labor has been stereotypically linked to food service and preparation such as the ubiquitous Chinese take-out place and more recently, the sushi and Korean fusion joints. This course is an introduction to the interdisciplinary study of food to better understand the historical, social, and cultural aspects of Asian American food preparation, distribution and consumption. Students will investigate the politics and poetics of Asian American foodways by examining social habits, and rituals around food in restaurants, homes and other public venues. The course texts include ethnographic essays, fictional works, memoirs, magazines, and television shows.

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