ANTH 310D | Food and CultureDr. Adams |Spring 2015

Melissa Correllcorrell@lycoming.edu

Developing Your Research Topic

DishPotato Chip Sandwich

Food

Anthropology

You

Choosing a dish related to you will lead to a more interesting project (you’ll enjoy the research more and produce higher-quality work if you care about what you are doing)

You’ll consider how these concepts intersect

DishPotato Chip Sandwich

Food

Anthropology

YouFond

memoriesChildhood

Still like it

Family bond

How is this dish relevant to you?

DishPotato Chip Sandwich

Food

Anthropology

YouFond

memories

Class

Latchkey kid

Working parents

independence

Childhood

Still like it

Family bond

DishPotato Chip Sandwich

Food

Anthropology

YouFond

memories

Class

Latchkey kid

Working parents

independence

Childhood

Still like it

Family bond

Convenient

Pale, bland

CheapEasy

Processed

White bread, mayo, chips

What do you know about this dish?

DishPotato Chip Sandwich

Food

Anthropology

YouFond

memories

Class

Latchkey kid

Working parents

independence

Childhood

Still like it

Family bond

Convenient

Pale, bland

CheapEasy

Processed

White bread, mayo, chips Social

Context

Anthropologists in this field

You will need to identify relevant anthropologists, and to consider the social context of the dish

DishPotato Chip Sandwich

Food

Anthropology

YouFond

memories

Class

Latchkey kid

Working parents

independence

Childhood

Still like it

Family bond

Convenient

Pale, bland

CheapEasy

Processed

White bread, mayo, chips Social

Context

What is “white trash?”

Anthropologists in this field

DishPotato Chip Sandwich

Food

Anthropology

YouFond

memories

Class

Latchkey kid

Working parents

independence

Childhood

Still like it

Family bond

Convenient

Pale, bland

CheapEasy

Processed

White bread, mayo, chips Social

Context

What is “white trash?”

Lack of sophistication

How is identity

constructed?

Class & race intersect

Anthropologists in this field

Ask yourself:What do I already know? What do I need to find out?

DishPotato Chip Sandwich

Food

Anthropology

YouFond

memories

Class

Latchkey kid

Working parents

independence

Childhood

Still like it

Family bond

Convenient

Pale, bland

CheapEasy

Processed

White bread, mayo, chips Social

Context

Processed food in

America

What is “white trash?”

Lack of sophistication

How is identity

constructed?

Class & race intersect

Anthropologists in this field

Is there something uniquely

American about convenience

food?

New ideas may occur to you throughout the process

DishPotato Chip Sandwich

Food

Anthropology

YouFond

memories

Class

Latchkey kid

Working parents

independence

Childhood

Still like it

Family bond

Convenient

Pale, bland

CheapEasy

Processed

White bread, mayo, chips Social

Context

Processed food in

America

What is “white trash?”

Lack of sophistication

How is identity

constructed?

Class & race intersect

Anthropologists in this field

Is there something uniquely

American about convenience

food?

Matt Wray (sociologist)

Preliminary research helps you identify relevant scholars. Be sure to check their credentials – you need at least three sources from an anthropologist!

DishPotato Chip Sandwich

Food

Anthropology

YouFond

memories

Class

Latchkey kid

Working parents

independence

Childhood

Still like it

Family bond

Convenient

Pale, bland

CheapEasy

Processed

White bread, mayo, chips Social

Context

Processed food in

America

What is “white trash?”

Lack of sophistication

How is identity

constructed?

Class & race intersect

Anthropologists in this field

Is there something uniquely

American about convenience

food?

James Hartigan

(anth)

Matt Wray (sociologist)

With more research, I found an anthropologist who writes about “white trash”

DishPotato Chip Sandwich

Food

Anthropology

YouFond

memories

Class

Latchkey kid

Working parents

independence

Childhood

Still like it

Family bond

Convenient

Pale, bland

CheapEasy

Processed

White bread, mayo, chips Social

Context

Processed food in

America

What is “white trash?”

Lack of sophistication

How is identity

constructed?

Class & race intersect

Anthropologists in this field

Is there something uniquely

American about convenience

food?

James Hartigan

(anth)

Matt Wray (sociologist)

Is there something uniquely American

about “white trash?”

Do you see common themes emerging?

New questions may arise

DishPotato Chip Sandwich

Food

Anthropology

YouFond

memories

Class

Latchkey kid

Working parents

independence

Childhood

Still like it

Family bond

Convenient

Pale, bland

CheapEasy

Processed

White bread, mayo, chips Social

Context

Processed food in

America

What is “white trash?”

Lack of sophistication

How is identity

constructed?

Class & race intersect

Anthropologists in this field

Is there something uniquely

American about convenience

food?

James Hartigan

(anth)

Matt Wray (sociologist)

Is there something uniquely American

about “white trash?”

Connected ideas helped me to generate a preliminary research question:

How does processed comfort food (such as the potato chip sandwich) embody the characteristics of the socially constructed identity “white trash?”

To do efficient research, you need a strategy. Ask yourself these three questions (and answer them as best you can) to formulate a strategy:

What do I (think I) know about _________?What do I need to find out about _______?Where might I find that information?

Librarians are here to help every step of the way!We want to help!