Some questions to ponder for this week's reading (remember, post at least one response before Wednesday ends):
Each of our authors re-imagines, even re-purposes, Levi-Strauss' culinary triangle of raw-cooked-rotten. The triangle itself is full of ambiguity but he posits that it maps onto different kinds of triangles (e.g., roasted-smoked-boiled, nature-culture-culture). In recycling it, how do our authors contribute to the structural understanding of specific cultural foodways? Are they successful in "redeeming" his theory?
Mary Douglas suggests that non-kosher animals are rendered unfit because they themselves are ambiguous; they do not have the full characteristics of land, sea or air animals. What is gained in an analysis of kashrut that focuses only on triads? What is lost in that kind of analysis?
Why do people love the pig? And why do people hate it so? What boundaries does the pig reinforce or break down?
How much does the origin and intention of a food or foodway (either prohibition or encouragement) really matter to its meaning in a specific culture?
Is meat feminine or masculine? (You'll need to back up your response with a reasoned theory.)
And, finally, if pork barbeque is Southern and the pig is anathema to Judaism, what do we do about Southern Jews?
It is ON!
Welch's for Pesah? " Welch's Teams With Manischewitz in Battle Over Kosher Grape Juice " (NPR, 10/10/17)
1 comment:
I wouldn't go so far as to say that pork is anathema to Judaism because there are plenty of Reform pork eaters and pork eating rabbis. It is anathema to those who hold to halacha and Jewish dietary law. Can you be a good Reform Jew and indulge in Southern pork barbecue? Certainly! What I found to be anathema to Judaism is the connection that the author makes to barbecue and Christianity. If Southern barbecue is intrinsically linked to Christianity in the South, then you have a much deeper issue about the foods you eat and what they signify to the outside world. You might consider moving to New York, where people won't equate your love of pork with love of Jesus.
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