essay

Playing with food: the negotiation of identity in the ethnic display event by Italian Americans in Clinton, Indiana

studies in italian american folklore • Logan, Utah • Published In 1993 • Pages: 107-126

By: Magliocco, Sabina, Del Guidice, Lusia.

Abstract

Foodways are "…one of the most important symbols through which ethnic groups in America have maintained their individual identities and communicated them to the world around them"…(pp. 107-108). In this paper Magliocco examines food symbolically especially in regard to its significance in the Little Italy Festival carried out in a multiethnic community in which the various foods are chosen by the Italian American community as representative of their ethnic identity.. Magliocco examines four different categories of food present at the festival: "… esoteric foods, present at the private level in each Italian American home; display foods, typically associated with Italians and presented for public sale and consumption; rechristened foods, basically American items, such as soda pop and ham sandwiches, which are given Italian designations for this occasion; and pseudo-foods, such as large wooden 'cheeses,' used mostly in games and contests associated with the festival. Each category of food plays a different role in the display of symbolic ethnicity and the maintenance of ethnic identity " (p. 108).

HRAF PubDate

2000

Region

North America

Sub Region

Regional, Ethnic and Diaspora Cultures

Document Type

essay

Evaluation

Creator Type

Unknown

Document Rating

5: Excellent Primary Data

Analyst

John Beierle ; 1999

Field Date

fall 1983

Coverage Date

1895-1983

Coverage Place

Clinton, Indiana, United States

Notes

Sabina Magliocco

Includes bibliographical references (p. 124-126)

LCCN

93021459

LCSH

Italian Americans