Dept. of Performance Studies Mondays, 4-7 pm
New York University Spring 1998
721 Broadway, 6th fl krshnbtt@acf2.nyu.edu
New York, NY 10003 fax: 212-254-7885
FOOD AND PERFORMANCE
H42.2850
http://www.nyu.edu/classes/bkg
Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett
Food, its preparation, presentation, and consumption,
may be viewed as a complex system of performance.
After considering the physiology of taste and smell and
the discourse of gastronmy, we will analyze the design,
staging, and choreography of food preparation,
presentation, and consumption. Using cross-cultural
and interdisciplinary approaches, our analysis will
extend beyond strictly performative and aesthetic
concerns to a consideration of historical and social
issues. In the spirit of developing a performance
studies approach to the study of food, we will pay
special attention to artists who use food in their work
as well as to the aesthetics and politics of food in
cultural context. In the process, we will work towards
an understanding of the body in sensory as well as
corporal terms.
Readings
Books have been ordered at the NYU Book Center and put
on reserve at Bobst. Articles will be available in the PS
Archive. Readings will be discussed in class, individual
students will be asked to take responsibility for summarizing the
argument of particular readings, and others will be called on to
further explicate the material.
See the Book List for recent work on food,
including books ordered at NYU Book Center. Kitchen Arts and Letters
(1435 Lexington Ave, 212-876-5550) is a good place to locate food books.
BKG Essays
Essays by others
Student Research Papers
Site Visits
In addition to the Monday classes, there will be site visits
at other times: possibilities include a matzo baking factory, tea
ceremony, pastry competition, food styling studio, and St.
Joseph's tables. Several site visits will be organized specially
for the class. Others can be visited individually at a time
convenient to you. Films and videos that are assigned can be
viewed at Avery Fisher Media Center at Bobst and in some cases in
the PS Archive.
Conference
Sunday May 3 will be devoted to an all-day conference at which
everyone will present their work in the form of a short oral report.
Written Assignments
Written assignments include field reports on site visits, to
be included in a final portfolio of work done for the course, and
a final research paper.
Research papers will be posted.
Research Paper
Project proposal due February 23.
Final paper (and portfolio) due April 29.
Oral report due May 3.
Based on original research using primary sources, whether
archival or based on observation and interviews, the research
paper will document and analyze a food event, setting, or
phenomenon. Aim for rich documentation, strong conceptual focus,
detailed analyses, and sustained analysis informed by readings
for the course. The paper will be 20 pages long, double spaced.
Deadline: Wednesday April 29 for research paper and portfolio.
The project proposal (3 pages, double spaced) should clearly
set out the case you will explore, state the research question or
problem, indicate how you will do the research, offer a brief
preliminary outline of the paper, and indicate both what you have
already read and what you plan to read. Identify where you most
need help with the project. Deadline: February 23.
The oral report (2 pages double spaced, 5 minutes) will be
delivered during the conference on May 3.
Portfolio
The portfolio should include all written work done for the
course, including the proposal, the final paper, field reports,
and any other writing that you have done in relation the course.
Deadline: Wednesday April 29.
Food Assignments
Each person attending the class is asked to prepare an
appropriate food for one class or the all-day conference on May
3. Collaborations are strongly encouraged. Assignments will be
made during the first two weeks of class. The food should in
some way capture the issues being addressed in the readings and
discussion for that session.
Course Web Page
There will be a course web page and class newsgroup news:nyu.tsoa.ps.foodperf
Everyone is expected to participate in electronic discussion and
to access the course from the web page, where there will be
updates, full texts of some readings, and links to useful
Internet sites.
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FOOD AND PERFORMANCE
H42.2850
Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett
Schedule
This web page will be regularly updated.
http://www.nyu.edu/classes/bkg
1. 1/26 Introduction
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2. 2/2 Food and the Moral Order
Counihan and Esterik, Food and Culture, pp. 20-91.
Schama, Embarrassment of Riches, pp. 150-188.
Recommended
Appadurai, "Gastro-politics in Hindu South-Asia," American
Ethnologist 8 (1981): 494-511.
Douglas, Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution
and Taboo (1966).
Simoons, Eat Not This Flesh: Food Avoidances From Prehistory to
the Present (2nd ed., 1994).
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3. 2/9 Food and the Senses
GUEST: Richard Schechner
Brillat-Savarin, The Philospher in the Kitchen, pp. 13-113, 160-
171.
Barthes, "Reading Brillat-Savarin," in On Signs, pp. 61-75.
Howes, ed., The Varieties of Sensory Experience, pp. 61-76, 111-
127, 221-230.
Bharata-Muni, Natyashastra, chpt 6.
Schechner, "Thoughts on Rasaesthetics"
Marinetti, The Futurist Cookbook, pp. 21-41.
Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, "Edible Art," Artforum
(Nov 1989): 20-
23.
Recommended
Hibbitts, "Coming to
Our Senses: Communication and Legal Expression in Performance
Cultures". See specially the section on taste and smell.
Classen et al, Aroma: The Cultural History of Smell (1994).
Corbin, The Foul and the Fragrant: Odor and the French Social
Imagination (1986).
Lin, Hsiang Ju and Tsuifeng Lin, Chinese Gastronomy (1969).
Cytowic, Richard E. "Synesthesia:
Phenomenology and Neuropsychology," Psyche 2,10 (July 1995).
Costa, Luciano da F. "Synesthesia:
A Real Phenomenon? Or Real Phenomena?" Psyche 2,26 (Jan 1996).
Baron-Cohen, Simon. "Is
There a Normal Phase of Synesthesia in Development? Psyche 2,27 (June
1996).
See Book List for additional readings on the
senses: Ackerman, Apt, Bynum and Porter, Camporesi, Classen, Seremetakis,
Stoller.
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4. 2/16 Anatomy of Taste
GUEST: Linda Bartoshuk
VIEW:
Please bring a mirror to class.
Duffy, Valerie B. and Linda M. Bartoshuk. "Sensory Factors in Feeding,"
145-171.
Bartoshuk, Linda M. "The Biological Basis of Food Perception and
Acceptance," Food Quality and Preference 4 (1993): 21-32.
Cain, William S. "What We Remember About Odors," Perfumer and Flavorist 9
(June/July 1984): 17-21.
Ruin, Hans. "Smell--Notes for a Phenomenology of Olfaction," Kris, Nr
43-44 (1991): 138-141.
Recommended
Beauchamp and Bartoshuk, eds. Tasting and Smelling (1997).
Logue, The Psychology of Eating and Drinking (1991).
Zugotowicz, Monica. A Study of the Use of Odor in Western Performance. MA
Thesis, Department of Performance Studies, New York University, 1980.
See Book List for additional readings on taste
and olfaction: Apt, Santich, Schivelbusch, Susskind, Vroon et al.
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5. 2/23 Taste and Discourse
GUEST: Joshua Wesson, Best Cellars
EVENT: Wine tasting
Amerine, Maynard, Wines: Their Sensory Evaluation, pp. 18-54.
Rosengarten and Wesson, Red Wine With Fish, selections.
Broadbent, The Great Vintage Wine Book (selected wine
descriptions).
Terry Theise Estate Selections 1993 (selected wine descriptions).
Lehrer, Wine and Conversation, pp. 3-29.
Recommended
Silverstein, Michael. "Oenophily and Oinoglossia," Unpublished paper,
1989.
Young, Alan. Making Sense of Wine: A Study in Sensory Perception
(1986).
Douglas, Mary. ed. Constructive Drinking (1987).
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6. 3/2 Edible Spectacle: Visual Display
Nevile, Jenny. "The Musical Banquet in Italian Quattrocento
Festivities," Symposium of Australian Gastronomy, 4, 1988
(Sydney, 1990):125-142.
el-Khoury, "Delectable Decoration: Taste and Spectacle in Jean
Fran‡ois de Bastide's La petite maison," Lusitania 9 (1998): 48-
62.
Bonnet, "Careme, or the Last Sparks of Decorative Cuisine,"
Lusithania 9 (1998): 155-182.
Arens, "The Spectacle," The Art of Eating in France: Manners and
Menues in the Nineteenth Century, pp. 214-241.
Barthes, "Ornamental Cuisine," Mythologies, pp. 78-80.
Recommended
Wilson, C. Anne, ed. 'The Appetite and the Eye': Visual Aspects of
Food and Its Presentation," Food and Society 2 (Edinburgh: Edinburgh
University Press, 1991).
Wilson, C. Anne, ed. 'Banquetting Stuffe': The Fare and Social Baround
of the Tudor and Stuart Banquet. Food and Society 1 (Edinburgh: Edinburgh
University Press, 1991).
Bursche, Stefan. Tafelzier das Barock (Munich: Edition Schneider, 1974).
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7. 3/9 Japanese Tea Ceremony
Workshop: Marybeth Welch (place to be announced--if you are
not formally enrolled or an approved auditor and wish to attend
please contact me). Wear loose and comfortable clothes. A few people
should also wear clean white socks.
Tetsuzo, Tanikawa. "The Esthetics of Chanoyu, Part I," Chanoyu
Quarterly, no. 23 (1980): 37-47.
Soshitsu Sen XV, Urasenke Chanoyu (Handbooks One and Two) (Kyoto:
Urasenke Foundation, 1980)--I, pp. 3-25.
Sen, Soshitsu. Chado: The Japanese Way of Tea (Tokyo:
Weatherhill, 1979), pp. 118-129, 166-182.
Tsuji, Kaichi. Kaiseki: Zen Tastes in Japanese Cooking (Kyoto:
Kodansha, 1972), pp. 15-18, 163-191.
Yamamoto, Masaru. "Japanese Food: A Feast for the Eyes," in A
Feast for the Eyes: The Japanese Art of Food Arrangement by
Yoshio Tsuchiya (Tokyo: Kodansha, 1985), pp. 35-51 and "Foods and
Utensils in Japanese History," pp. 137-152.
Traditional Chanoyu
Chanoyu
Recommended
Sen, Soshitsu. The Japanese Way of Tea: From Its Origins in China
to Sen Rikyu (Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1998).
Kakuzo, Okakura. The Book of Tea (Rutland: Tuttle, 1956).
Kondo, Dorinne. "The Way of Tea: A Symbolic Analysis," Man n.s.
20 (1985): 287-307.
Anderson, Jennifer L. "Japanese Tea Ritual," Man n.s. 22 (1987):
475-498.
Bibliography on Tea Ceremony
Blofeld, John. The Chinese Art of Tea (Boston: Shambala, 1985).
Roth, Rodris. "Tea Drinking in 18th Century America: Its
Etiquette and Equipage," United States National Museum Bulletin
225 (1961): 61-91, Paper 14, Contributions from Museum of
History and Technology.
Hattox, Ralph S, Coffee and Coffeehouses: The Origins of a Social
Beverage in the Medieval Near East. Near Eastern Studies, No. 3
(Seattle: University of Washington Press).
Smith, Robert. "Whence the Samovar?" Petits Propos Culinaires 4
(1980): 57-72.
RECOMMENDED VISIT: Urasenke Chanoyu Center, 153 East 69th
St., NYC 10021. 212-988-6161. Urasenke offers tours and
classes. Visit their Japanese tea house, set in the
courtyard of this upper east side brownstone.
9. 3/23 Kitchens
SITE VISIT: Michael Lomonaco, Windows on the World, One World Trade
Center, 107th floor. Tour of kitchen **DATE CHANGED to April 6**
Fine, Gary Alan. Kitchens: The Culture of Restaurant Work (University of
California Press, 1996).
NOTE: From March 10-20, Michael Lomonaco will be taping his television
show, Michael's Place, at the Food Network, from 11 am - 4 pm every day
except Mondays. A class visit to the taping can be arranged.
Recommended:
Banner, Lois W. "Why Women Have Not Been Great Chefs," South Atlantic
Quarterly 72 (2) 1973: 198-212.
Cooper, Ann. "A Woman's Place Is in the Kitchen": The Evolution of Women
Chefs (Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1998).
McPhee, John. "Profiles: Brigade de Cuisine." The New Yorker (Feb 19):
49-99.
Sanger, Marjory Bartlett. Escoffier: Master Chef. New York: Farrer,
Straus, and Giroux, 1980.
Pirazzoli-t'Serstevens, Michele. "A Second-Century Chinese Kitchen
Scene," Food and Foodways 1 (1985):95-104.
3/29 National Pastry Arts Competition: Javits Center
10. 3/30 Passover/Easter
SITE VISIT: 10 am. Tour of matzo baking factory. Meet at 305 Kingston
Ave., just south of Eastern Parkway, near the Kingston Avenue station of
the #3 train. Allow one hour from Manhattan. $10 fee.
Feeley-Harnik, Gillian. "The Last Supper," The Lord's Table: The Meaning
of Food in Early Judaism and Christianity, pp. 107-148.
Cernea, Ruth Fredman. "The Summarizing Plate," The Passover Seder: An
Anthropological Perspective on Jewish Culture, pp. 129-147.
Weinreich, Beatrice. "The Americanization of Passover," Studies in
Biblical and Jewish Folklore, pp. 329-366.
Lehrhaupt, Linda. "The Organizational Seder in American Jewish Life,"
Western Folklore 65, 3 (1986):186-202.
Recommended
Rubin, Corpus Christi: The Eucharist in Late Medieval Culture, 1991.
Kilgous, From Communion to Cannibalism: An Anatomy of Metaphors of
Incorporation, 1990.
Jochnowitz, Eve. "Holy Rolling: Making Sense of Baking Matso"
Rosa, Craig. Shmura Matzo Baking in Crown Heights: A Proselytourism
Production, Masters Thesis, Performance Studies
The Latke Hamentashen Debate.
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11. 4/6 Writing Food: Recipes and Cookbooks
SITE VISIT: 10:00 am. Chef Michael Lomonaco, Windows on
the World, One World Trade Center, 107th
floor. Tour of kitchen.
Wheaton, Barbara "Cookbooks and Cooking in the Sixteenth
Century," Savoring the Past: The French Kitchen and Table
from 1300 to 1789 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania
Press, 1983), 27-41.
Appadurai, Arjun. "How to Make a National Cuisine: Cookbooks
in Contemporary India," Comparative Studies in Society and
History 30, 1 (1988):3-24.
Fisher, M.F.K. "The Anatomy of a Recipe," With Bold Knife
and Fork (New York: Paragon, 1969), 13-24.
De Silva, Cara. ed. In Memory's Kitchen: A Legacy from the
Women of Terezin (New York: Jason Aronson, 1996), ix-xvi,
xxv-5.
Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Barbara. "Kitchen Judaism," in
Getting Comfortable in New York: The American Jewish Home,
1880-1950 (New York: Jewish Museum, 1990), 75-105.
Schmidt, Paul. "As If a Cookbook Had Anything to Do with
Writing," Prose 8 (spring 1974), 179-203.
Recommended
Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Barbara."The Moral Sublime: The Temple Emanuel
Fair and Its Cookbook, Denver, 1888," Recipes for Reading:
Community Cookbooks, Stories, Histories, ed. Anne L. Bower (Amherst:
University of Massachusetts Press, 1997).
Jochnowitz, Eve. "Health and Revolution: Malky Eisenberger's Yiddish
Cookbook." Proceedings of conference on women and Yiddish.
Mendelson, Anne. Stand Facing the Stove: The Story of the
Women Who Gave America The Joy of Cooking (New York: Henry
Holt, 1996).
Leonardi, Susan J. "Recipes for Reading: Summer Pasta, Lobster
a la Riseholme, and Key Lime Pie," PMLA 104, 3 (May 1989):
340-347.
Esterik, Penny Van. "Feeding Their Faith: Recipe Knowledge
Among Thai Buddhist Women," Food and Foodways 1 (1986): 198-
215.
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12. 4/13 Fighting with Food I: Performing Hunger
Shack, "Hunger, Anxiety, and Ritual," in Food and Culture, 125-
137.
Bynam, "Fast, Feast, and Flesh," in Food and Culture, 138-158.
Bruch, "Body Image and Self-Awareness," in Food and Culture, 211-
225.
Bordo, "Anorexia Nervosa," in Food and Culture, 226-250.
Recommended
Feldman, Alan. Formations of Violence: The Body, Narrativity and
Political Terror in Northern Ireland (Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1990).
Brumberg, "The Appetite as Voice," in Food and Culture, 159-179.
Ellman, Maud. The Hunger Artists: Starving, Writing, and
Imprisonment (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1993).
Hamsun, Knut. Hunger (New York: AVon, 1980).
Kafka, "The Hunger Artist," The Penal Colony: Stories and Short
Pieces (New York: Schocken, 1961), 243-256.
Orwell, George. Down and Out in Paris and London (Harmondsworth:
Penguin, 1974 [1933]).
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13. 4/20 Fighting with Food II: Performing Excess
Rozin, Paul and April E. Fallon, "A Perspective on Disgust,"
Psychological Review 49, 1 (1987): 23-41.
Allison, "Japanese Mothers and Obentos," in Food and Culture,
296-314.
Fink, Beatrice C. "Food as Object, Activity and Symbol in Sade,"
Romantic Review 65, 2 (1974): 96-102.
Bakhtin, Mikhael. "The Banquet, the Body and the Underworld," in
The Bakhtin Reader (London: Arnold, 1994), 226-244.
Recommended
Suskind, Peter. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (NY: Pocket
Books, 1991).
Codere, Helen. Fighting with Property: A Study of Kwakiutl
Potlaching and Warfare, 1792-1930, AMerican Ethnological Society
Monographs, no. 18, 1950.
Schwabe, Calvin W. Unmentionable Cuisine (Charlottesville:
University Press of Virginia, 1979).
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14. 4/27 Gastroperformance revisited
GUEST: Demonstration of 4-star service
Shelton, Allen. "A Theater for Eating, Looking, and Thinking: The
Restaurant as Symbolic Space," Sociological Spectrum 10
(1990):507-26.
Wechsberg, Joseph. "Tafelspitz for the Hofrat," Blue Trout and
Black Truffles (London: Gollancz, 1953), 70-82.
4/29 Final paper due
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15. 5/3 SUNDAY Conference: 9 am to 6 pm.
See the notes of Lacey Torge on how to make a strong conference
presentation: Conference Protocol. Papers and oral
presentations are being posted.