This document summarizes readings on food culture from two articles. The first article discusses how American women married to French men used French cuisine to connect to French culture and identity. The second article examines the Japanese cooking show "Iron Chef" and how it promotes Japanese culture globally despite local adaptations. It explores how media can function as a form of soft power in cultural globalization.

1. Food Cultures
March 26, 2012
Heather Blanchard
Matthew Bedard
Robert Barnes
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Monday, March 26, 2012

2. What’s For Dinner?
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Monday, March 26, 2012

3. Video
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Monday, March 26, 2012

4. Food Culture
Readings
• Shields-Argeles: Mastering French Cuisine,
Espousing French Identity
• Lukacs: Iron Chef Around the World
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5. Shields-Argeles
Mastering French Cuisine,
Espousing French Identity
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6. Summary
• American women (Beth & Linda) married
to french men
• Linda: In Chicago, supportive husband
(food), extension of France/self, exotic
• Beth: In Paris, husband critical (food),
extension of America/refute, simplification
• Value of French food rituals and
assimilation to the cultural practice
• Selves defined through narrative
reconstruction, the act of eating:
presenting, preparation, discussion.
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7. Critical Evaluation
• Cultural other/superiority (Appadurai)
• Cosmopolitanism/expatriation (Beck)
• Cultural capital/construction of taste (Strauss/
Tomlinson)
• Self-reflexivity (Fouccalt)
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Monday, March 26, 2012

8. Gabriella Lukacs
Iron Chef Around the World
Japanese food television,
soft power and
cultural globalization
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Monday, March 26, 2012

9. Video
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10. Summary
• Japanese cooking show
• High drama, High cost ingredients
• Global audience
• Localization (Iron Chef America)
• Media may not act as soft power
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11. Critical Appraisal
• Westernization
• Cultural Globalization
• Cosmopolitan Media (?)
• Sense-making through an Oriental
framework
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12. Application
• Food as cultural capital (awareness,
preparation, exploration, access)
• Playing into/reinforcement of stereotypes
• Definition and role of “the other”
• Food as entertainment
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13. What’s For Dinner?
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Monday, March 26, 2012

14. Discussion
• What is the role of food in
cosmopolitanism?
• Can food transcend class?
• How does taste help constitute the nation/
state?
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15. Bon Appetit!
Itadakimasu!
Happy Eating!
Heather Blanchard
Matthew Bedard
Robert Barnes
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Monday, March 26, 2012