Food, Politics, and Society: Social Theory and the Modern Food System

Author:   Alejandro Colas ,  Dr. Jason Edwards ,  Jane Levi ,  Sami Zubaida
Publisher:   University of California Press
ISBN:  

9780520291942


Pages:   304
Publication Date:   16 October 2018
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   Out of stock   Availability explained
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Food, Politics, and Society: Social Theory and the Modern Food System


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Overview

Food and drink has been a focal point of modern social theory since the inception of agrarian capitalism and the industrial revolution. From Adam Smith to Mary Douglas, major thinkers have used key concepts such as identity, exchange, culture, and class to explain the modern food system. Food, Politics, and Society offers a historical and sociological survey of how these various ideas and the practices that accompany them have shaped our understanding and organization of the production, processing, preparation, serving, and consumption of food and drink in modern societies. Divided into twelve chapters and drawing on a wide range of historical and empirical illustrations, this book provides a concise, informed, and accessible survey of the interaction between social theory and food and drink. It is perfect for courses in a wide range of disciplines.

Full Product Details

Author:   Alejandro Colas ,  Dr. Jason Edwards ,  Jane Levi ,  Sami Zubaida
Publisher:   University of California Press
Imprint:   University of California Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.30cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.499kg
ISBN:  

9780520291942


ISBN 10:   0520291948
Pages:   304
Publication Date:   16 October 2018
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock   Availability explained
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments vii 1. Introduction: Food, Drink, and Modern Social Theory 1 2. The Natural and the Social: The Agricultural Revolution 21 3. Exchange: The Columbian Exchange and Mercantile Empires 40 4. Culture: Ritual, Prohibition, and Taboo 58 5. Industrialization: Technology, Rationality, and Urbanization 76 6. The Public Sphere: Eating and Drinking in Public 94 7. The Modern State: Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Biopolitics 112 8. Identity: Nationalism, Ethnicity, and Religion 130 9. Distinction: Social Diff erence, Taste, and the Civilizing Process 150 10. Political Economy: The Global Food System 169 11. The Self: Food Choices and Public Health 187 12. Consumption: Media, the Domestic Economy, and Celebrity Chefs 206 Notes 223 Select Bibliography 257 Index 265

Reviews

[A] well-researched and well-written piece of work, worthy of being used both in teaching and as an inspiration for future research projects. * Journal of Agrarian Change *


Author Information

Alejandro Colás is a Reader in International Relations at Birkbeck College, University of London, and is Director of the postgraduate program on International Security and Global Governance. He is the author of Empire and International Civil Society.   Jason Edwards is a Lecturer in Politics at Birkbeck College, University of London, and is Program Director of the MSc in Social and Political Theory. He is the author of The Radical Attitude and Modern Political Theory and the editor of Retrieving the Big Society.   Jane Levi is a Visiting Research Fellow in History at King’s College, London, and is King’s Mount Vernon Fellow 2017–18. She has contributed to numerous scholarly volumes on food including the Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets and the Sage Encyclopedia of Food Issues.   Sami Zubaida is Emeritus Professor of Politics and Sociology at Birkbeck College, University of London, and is a Fellow of Birkbeck College, Research Associate of the London Middle East Institute, and Professorial Research Associate of the Food Studies Centre at SOAS. His books include Islam, the People and the State: Political Ideas and Movements in the Middle East and A Taste of Thyme: Culinary Cultures of the Middle East.  

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