Contextual Considerations: Room A203
29 October - 11:15AM-12:50PM CEST Copenhagen (Aarhus University)
Blue Ridge Myth and Memory: Tracing Appalachian Identity through Foodways
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Ashli Stokes
Celebration of new chefs and restaurants and non-white and non-male Appalachian food voices has increased, while conversations about Appalachian food symbolizing the region’s white ethnic racism, nationalism, poverty, and ignorance have also intensified. By viewing food rhetorically, or as meaning-making, this essay intervenes in the long history of devaluing Appalachia by exploring how these messages counter, and sometimes, reinforce, tired stereotypes. Using theoretical lenses of circulation and migration and employing a rhetorical fieldwork methodology, the essay analyzes critically a variety of Appalachian food texts to assess the persuasive messages they share. Specifically, it focuses on the Blue Ridge or Mountain South, a sub-region that shares commonalities with other parts of the massive 1,000 mile long Appalachian region, evaluating the many contrasts that play an active role in creating the two versions of the Appalachian story seen frequently today: poor, white, fat, dumb Appalachia and hopeful, diverse, progressive Appalachia. It assesses Blue Ridge food culture by accounting for the everyday eateries that fuel the lives of Mountain residents by contrasting these establishments with those that are highlighted frequently in tourism literature. By rhetorically analyzing this part of the Appalachian food story, the essay speaks to growing interest in the region, which has received increased popular attention since 2016. Through this rhetorical approach that illustrates how food messages shape who people are, how they see themselves, and how they see others, food becomes a way to understand a changing region with a difficult past and challenging future.
Is There Fish in Fish Cakes?: An Interdisciplinary Inquiry into the Influence of a Sensory-based Experiential Theme Course on Fish on Children’s Literacy and Fish-eating Behavior
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Rikke Højer
Danish children aged 11- to 13- years only consume one-third of the officially recommended amount of fish. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of a five-week sensory-based experiential cooking course with fish on 11- to 13- year old children’s food literacy and acceptance of fish. This quasi-experimental study is based on a mixed-methods research strategy (participant observations, baseline/follow up survey, group interviews), and 669 children participated (intervention group n = 268; control group 1: no intervention n = 194; control group 2: oral lecture n = 207). The main effects were the ability to assess fish freshness (p = 0.007, MG > CG, 0.44 units on 5-point Likert scale), skills related to handling and cooking fish; e.g. filleting a flatfish (p < 0.001, MG > CG, 0.89 units) and autonomy, teamwork, and development of vocabulary. No positive effects were observed for liking or assessment of fish disgustingness, but course evaluation showed 47% had become curious on tasting other kinds of fish, and 38% stated a higher liking for fish after participation. Tactile play and cooking were able to promote acceptance, but rejection- acceptance was a continuum moved by the degree of perceived animalness of fish. Finally, liking to cook is not associated with skills but with food neophobia, implying enjoyment of cooking does not depend on self-perceived skills but rather on curiosity and food exploration. In conclusion, food literacy and acceptance of fish increased through participation in a five-week sensory-based experiential cooking course with fish.
