Introductory description

Food and Performance considers the ways in which the need to regularly consume food reflects our physical, cultural, political and social realities, exploring and creating performance that examines these practices.

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

Autumn
01 - Food
02 - Denial
03 - Excess
04 - Aesthetics
05 - Politics
06 - Reading week
07 - Tutorials on Seminar Presentation
08 - Taste
09 - Presentation
10 - Feast

Spring
01 - Performance
02 - Gender
03 - Hospitality
04 - Entertainment
05 - Intercultural
06 - Reading week
07 - Tutorials on Performance
08 - Rehearsal
09 - Tech
10 - Performance

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• identify and debate central issues around the cultivation, distribution, preparation and consumption of food and the extent to which these are addressed in theatre practice
• to identify the points of contact and departure between food and theatre both in theory and practice
• demonstrate an understanding of the roles of guest, host, cook and diner and the ways in which these are depicted within or resonate with the roles assumed in performance
• demonstrate their understanding of key concepts explored during the module (such as food taboos, culinary tourism, hospitality and taste) in practical work
• work productively with others, to grasp complex problems and produce imaginative solutions, as well as to develop presentation and organisational skills

Indicative reading list

Appadurai, A. (1981). "Gastro-Politics in Hindu South Asia." American Ethnologist 8(3): 494-511.
Avakian, A. V. and B. Haber (2006). Feminist Food Studies: A Brief History. From Betty Crocker to Feminist Food Studies: Critical Perspectives on Women and Food. A. V. Avakian and B. Haber. Amherst, MA, University of Massachusetts Press: 1-26.
Baldwyn, L. (1996). "Blending in: The Immaterial Art of Bobby Baker's Culinary Events." TDR (1988-) 40(4): 37-55.
Barbas, S. (2003). "“I'll Take Chop Suey”: Restaurants as Agents of Culinary and Cultural Change." The Journal of Popular Culture 36(4): 669-686.
Belasco, W. (1999). "Why Food Matters." Culture & Agriculture 21(1): 27-34.
Berghaus, G. (2009). "The Futurist Banquet: Nouvelle Cuisine or Performance Art?" New Theatre Quarterly 17(1): 3-17.
Bordo, S. (2000). Hunger as Ideology. The Consumer Society Reader. J. B. Schor and D. B. Holt. New York, The New Press: 99-114.
Bourdieu, P. (1984). The Habitus and the Space of Life-Styles. Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. London and New York, Routledge: 165-222.
Brandes, S. (2009). "The Day of the Dead, Halloween, and the Quest for Mexican National Identity." The Journal of American Folklore 111(442): 359-380.
Cairns, K., et al. (2010). "CARING ABOUT FOOD: Doing Gender in the Foodie Kitchen." Gender and Society 24(5): 591-615.
Chan, A. (2003). "'La grande bouffe': Cooking Shows as Pornography." Gastronomica 3(4): 47-53.
CiWF (2015). "Feeding the Planet: Building on the Milan Charter Position Paper." from https://www.ciwf.org.uk/media/7208623/feeding-the-planet-building-on-the-milan-charter-position-statement.pdf.
Counihan, C. M. (1998). Introduction - Food and Gender: Identity and Power. Food and Gender: Identity and Power. C. M. Counihan and S. L. Kaplan. Amsterdam, Harwood Academic Publishers: 1-10.
Cozzi, E. (1999). Hunger and the Future of Performance. Performance Research: On Cooking. R. Gough, Routledge: 121 - 129.
Cwiertka, K. J. (2004). Western Food and the Making of the Japanese Nation-state. The Politics of Food. M. E. Lien and B. Nerlich. Oxford Berg: 121-140.
Dohmen, R. (2013). "Towards a Cosmopolitan Criticality? Relational Aesthetics, Rirkrit Tiravanija and Transnational Encounters with Pad Thai." Open Arts Journal(1): 35-46.
Epstein, M. J. (1996). "Consuming Performances: Eating Acts and Feminist Embodiment." TDR (1988-) 40(1146588): 20-36.
Finkelstein, Joanne. 1989. "Dining Out." In Dining Out: A Sociology of Modern Manners., 68-107. New York: New York University Press.
Harris, R., et al. (2003). "Theatrical service experiences: Dramatic script development with employees." International Journal of Service Industry Management 14(2): 184-199.
Heldke, L. M. (1992). Foodmaking as a Thoughtful Practice. Cooking, Eating, Thinking: Transformative Philosophies of Food. D. W. Curtin and L. Heldke. Indianapolis, Indiana University Press: 203-229.
Hemmington, N. (2007). "From Service to Experience; understanding and defining the hospitality business." The Service Industries Journal 27(6): 747-755.
Hyman, G. (2008). "The Taste of Fame: Chefs, Diners, Celebrity, Class." Gastronomica 8(3): 43-52.
Klein, J. (1999). "Feeding the Body: the Work of Barbara Smith." Performing Arts Journal 21(1): 24-35.
Korsmeyer, C. (2007). Delightful, Delicious, Disgusting. Food and Philosophy: Eat, Think and Be Merry. F. Allhof and D. Monroe. Oxford, Blackwell Publishing Ltd: 145-161.
O'Connor, J. (2006). "Badlands: Portrait of a Competitive Eater." Gastronomica 6(3): 16-23.
Probyn, E. (2000). Bodies that Eat. Carnal Appetities: FoodSexIdentities. New York, Routledge: 11-32.
Raviv, Y. (2010). "Eating My Words: Talking about Food in Performance." Invisible Culture (14): 8-31.
Reed-Danahay, D. (1996). "Champagne and Chocolate: "Taste" and Inversion in a French Wedding Ritual." American Anthropologist 98(4): 750-761.
Telfer, E. (2002). Food as Art. Arguing about Art: Contemporary Philosophical Debate. A. Neill and A. Ridley. New York, Routledge: 9-27.
Warde, A. (1994). "Changing Vocabularies of Taste, 1967-92:: Discourses about Food Preparation." British Food Journal 96(9): 22-25.
Watson, P., et al. (2008). "Online communities and the sharing of extraordinary restaurant experiences." Journal of Foodservice 19(6): 289-302.

Research element

Small group presentations will require students to identify a topic within food and performance that they will explore and share with the rest fo the group by means of a 20 minute presentation

Interdisciplinary

It is intended to work with members of the Food GRP in sharing their discipline-specific engagement with food.

Subject specific skills

Awareness of consumption and sustainability

Transferable skills

Presentation
Collaboration
Production
Performance