Southerners love to talk food, quickly revealing likes and dislikes, regional preferences, and their own delicious stories. Because the topic often crosses lines of race, class, gender, and region, food supplies a common fuel to launch discussion. Consuming Identity sifts through the self-definitions, allegiances, and bonds made possible and strengthened through the theme of southern foodways. The book focuses on the role food plays in building identities, accounting for the messages food sends about who we are, how we see ourselves, and how we see others. While many volumes examine southern food, this one is the first to focus on food's rhetorical qualities and the effect that it can have on culture. The volume examines southern food stories that speak to the identity of the region, explain how food helps to build identities, and explore how it enables cultural exchange. Food acts rhetorically, with what we choose to eat and serve sending distinct messages. It also serves a vital identity-building function, factoring heavily into our memories, narratives, and understanding of who we are. Finally, because food and the tales surrounding it are so important to southerners, the rhetoric of food offers a significant and meaningful way to open up dialogue in the region. By sharing and celebrating both foodways and the food itself, southerners are able to revel in shared histories and traditions. In this way individuals find a common language despite the divisions of race and class that continue to plague the south. The rich subject of southern fare serves up a significant starting point for understanding the powerful rhetorical potential of all food.

This text provides a structured and practical framework for understanding the complexities of contemporary public relations. It is an instructional book that guides the reader through the challenges of communication and problem solving across a range of organizations and cross-cultural settings.

Written in a straightforward, lively style, the book covers:

• foundational theories, and factors that shape the discipline
• communication across cultures
• trends affecting the public relations profession throughout the world.

Incorporating case studies and commentary to illustrate key principles and stimulate discussion, this book also highlights the different approaches professionals must consider in different contexts, from communicating with employees to liaising with external bodies, such as government agencies or the media.

Offering a truly global perspective on the subject, Global Public Relations is essential reading for any student or practitioner interested in public relations excellence in a global setting.

A companion website provides additional material for lecturers and students alike: www.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415448154/

This ground breaking text provides a structured and practical framework to understanding the complexities of contemporary public relations. It is an instructional book that guides the reader through the pitfalls of communicating and problem solving across a range of organizations and locations, and in both international and cross cultural settings.

Featuring case studies, testimonials from professionals working in the field, and discussion questions for further debate, Global Public Relations highlights the differing dynamics which need to be considered in a variety of contexts; from communicating to a company's own employees, to liaising with external bodies like government agencies, community opinion leaders, and the media. The book shows how skilled public relations professional negotiate an array of different issues in both reflecting and maintaining the goals and values of the organization they work for.

Offering a truly global perspective on the subject, this innovative text is essential reading for any student interested in public relations and the mass media in general, and will also be of interest to professional working in the field.

Southerners love to talk food, quickly revealing likes and dislikes, regional preferences, and their own delicious stories. Because the topic often crosses lines of race, class, gender, and region, food supplies a common fuel to launch discussion. Consuming Identity sifts through the self-definitions, allegiances, and bonds made possible and strengthened through the theme of southern foodways. The book focuses on the role food plays in building identities, accounting for the messages food sends about who we are, how we see ourselves, and how we see others. While many volumes examine southern food, this one is the first to focus on food's rhetorical qualities and the effect that it can have on culture. The volume examines southern food stories that speak to the identity of the region, explain how food helps to build identities, and explore how it enables cultural exchange. Food acts rhetorically, with what we choose to eat and serve sending distinct messages. It also serves a vital identity-building function, factoring heavily into our memories, narratives, and understanding of who we are. Finally, because food and the tales surrounding it are so important to southerners, the rhetoric of food offers a significant and meaningful way to open up dialogue in the region. By sharing and celebrating both foodways and the food itself, southerners are able to revel in shared histories and traditions. In this way individuals find a common language despite the divisions of race and class that continue to plague the South. The rich subject of southern fare serves up a significant starting point for understanding the powerful rhetorical potential of all food.

Regional differences matter. Even in an increasingly globalized world, rhetorical attention to regionalism yields very different understandings of geographic areas and the people who inhabit them. Regional identities often become most apparent in the differences (real and perceived) between urban and rural areas. Politicians recognize the perceived differences and develop messages based on that knowledge. Media highlight and exacerbate the differences to drive ratings. Cultural markers (from memorials to restaurants and memoirs and beyond) point to the differences and even help to construct those divisions. The places identified as urban and rural even visually demarcate the differences at times. This volume explores how rhetoric surrounding the urban and rural binary helps shape our understanding of those regions and the people who reside there. Chapters from award-winning rhetorical scholars explain the implications of viewing the regions as distinct and divided, exploring how they influence our understanding of ourselves and others, politics and race, culture, space and place, and more. Attention to urban and rural spaces is necessary because those spaces both act rhetorically and are also created through rhetoric. In a time when thoughtful attention to regional division has become more critical than ever, this book is required reading to help think through and successfully engage the urban/rural divide.