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New culinary history journal and book series added to Williams College prof.'s platter
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Dec. 14, 1999--Culinary history has long been an interest of Williams College Russian Professor Darra Goldstein's research, following the idea that through the ages gastronomy has proved to be a stronger cultural force among the peoples of the world than linguistic or other influences. Now Goldstein will add to her "platter" the editorship of the new journal Gastronomica and a new book series, California Studies in Food and Culture, published by the University of California Press.
Goldstein describes her new book series as "a forum for scholars who write about food from any number of perspectives, including anthropological, historical, philosophical, and ecological."
She also plans to reprint the first cookbook published in America by a Latina woman, Encarnacion Pinedo. The translation will include not only recipes from "Mexican Cooking in Nineteenth-Century California," but also commentary on the sociopolitical issues surrounding the history of well-to-do Mexican families in California.
Gastronomica is the first scholarly journal dealing with food studies from a cultural perspective. Her hope is that it will "help define the field by providing a forum for sharing ideas, provoking discussion, and encouraging thoughtful reflection on the history, literature, representation, and cultural impact of food." The editorial offices of Gastronomica will be housed at Williams.
These two undertakings respond to growing recognition that culinary history is a valid academic pursuit. There has been a proliferation of literature on various topics in the field, both scholarly and popular, marking a change for those who have been studying the topic in spite of general disdain for years.
"One reason that culinary history was not taken seriously is because food and eating are so universal: we all eat," said Goldstein. "But now people are paying attention to the ways in which food can be used as an instrument of social, political, literary, even artistic analysis."
Some scholars, however, question the wisdom of embracing popular texts as part of the field. They fear the respect that culinary history has struggled to attain will be compromised by these non-academic texts. Goldstein dismisses these fears, citing the importance of involving "people without a Ph.D." in academic discourse in this area.
She has written a number of books and articles on this topic for The New York Times, the Journal of Gastronomy, and American Wine and Food. She was awarded the Sophie Coe Subsidiary Prize in Food History in 1997 from the Oxford Symposium on food and cookery for her essay "Is Hay Only for Horses? Highlights of Russian Vegetarianism at the Turn of the Century," and she received the Julia Child Award for Best Cookbook of the Year for "The Georgian Feast," which was also named Best International Cookbook. Her most recent cookbook is "The Vegetarian Hearth," a combination of historical essays and cold-weather vegetable dishes from around the world.
In addition to researching culinary history, Goldstein occasionally teaches courses on the subject as part of the curriculum at Williams. This spring she will lead a course called "Topics in Russian Culture: Feasting and Fasting in Russian History."
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Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked first in academic reputation among all liberal arts colleges. The college of 2,000 students is located in Williamstown, which has been called the best college town in America. You can visit the college in cyberspace at www.williams.edu
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