Food as a Marker of Cultural Identity and Social Class in Contemporary Multicultural North American Literature

Erscheinungsjahr 2025
ISBN: 978-3-8260-9095-0
Verlag: Königshausen & Neumann

Buch, Englisch, Band 976, 290 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm

Reihe: Epistemata - Literaturwissenschaft

How are food habits shaped by cultural background and social class position? And what do these entanglements of food, class, and culture reveal about the status and integration of ethnic minorities in Canada’s and US-America’s multicultural societies? Applying a comparative North American perspective to the innovative field of literary food studies, this insightful analysis argues that food’s connection to issues of class and cultural identity makes it a prime arena for crystallizing social hierarchies and questions of belonging in multicultural North America. Taking a critical look at food producer and consumer constellations, hierarchical perceptions of cuisines, and popular designations of mainstream North American vs. exotic foods, this study highlights how matters of class, race, and culture manifest themselves in the North American culinary world. An in-depth analysis of six novels and one short story by Chinese and Black North American authors shows how Canadian and American writers draw upon food themes to illustrate their characters’ class and cultural identities, and how they use these connections between food, class, and culture to paint a critical picture of the acceptance of diversity in Canada and the United States.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Kaplitz, Ingrid

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literarische Stoffe, Motive und Themen
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Englische Literatur Amerikanische Literatur
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft | Kulturwissenschaften Kulturwissenschaften: Ernährung & Gesellschaft

Über Autor(innen)

Ingrid Kaplitz studied British and American Studies and Political Science in Konstanz and in Boston. Her Ph.D. included a research stay at UBC in Vancouver and was completed at the University of Konstanz in 2024. She worked as a research assistant and lecturer at the University of Konstanz.