An exploration in the history of biopolitics, "The Early American
Table" offers a unique study of the ways in which English colonists
in North America incorporated the "you are what you eat" philosophy
into their conception of themselves and their proper place in
society. Eden aptly demonstrates that ideas about the body - ideas
which may seem irrelevant or even laughable today - not only guided
day-to-day personal behavior but also influenced society and
politics.According to the 17th- and 18th-century understanding of
the body, food affected the blood, bones, mind, and spirit in ways
other social markers (e.g. clothes, manners, speech) did not
because food was directly assimilated by the consumer. A plentiful,
varied diet of high-quality refined foods created virtuous, refined
individuals fit to govern society. In contrast, a more restricted
diet of poor quality, coarse foods made an individual coarse, even
beastly, and unfit to lead. In the Old World, especially before
1600, poverty, legal restrictions, and the scarcity of land
prohibited most individuals from purchasing or raising foods
believed to produce refinement and virtue. Only the wealthy were
able to enjoy such a diet. In turn, this elite diet marked their
social status and reaffirmed their entitlement to power.The
Englishmen and women who colonized North America throughout the
colonial period held this idea that diet shaped character. After
only a few decades of settlement, many of them enjoyed the
unprecedented prosperity enabled by the fertile environment. Lower
and middling families could set their tables with a greater variety
and higher quality of food than their social counterparts in
England. As a result, in contrast to England where an aristocrat's
dinner was far different than a laborer's, in America, the
differences between the diets of artisans and urban laborers, of
plantation owners and small farmers, were not as great. In short,
the American diet was a democratic diet that had social and
political consequences. Readers interested in biopolitics, the
history of science and medicine, social history, food studies,
early American history, British history, and colonial studies will
enjoy this delightful study.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
(1)
(7)
