Eating is communicating by other means – eating culture, communication, cuisine
- 15.01.2013
- English Articles
- Ines Heindl
- Claudia Plinz-Wittorf
Peer-reviewed | Manuscript received: June 5, 2012 | Revision accepted: November 21, 2012
„Alle Ernährung hat einen körperlich-materiellen und einen psychisch-soziokulturellen Aspekt; zwischen Bedürfnis (Hunger & Appetit) und Befriedigung (Essen & Trinken) setzt der Mensch das kulturelle System der Küche.“ [1, S. 3] (“All nourishment has a physical and material as well as a psychological and sociocultural aspect; between need (hunger & appetite) and gratification (food & drink) the individual implements the cultural system of cooking.”) [1, p. 3]
Introduction
In recent decades, there have been significant advances in understanding the cultural phenomenon of eating and drinking. Subsequent to work by classic theorists, such as SIMMEL, ELIAS and LÉVI-STRAUSS, this deepening of knowledge has been achieved particularly through contributions from sociology (BARLÖSIUS), history (TEUTEBERG), ethnology (BENDIX) and in the development of intercultural German studies as a regional cultural science with incorporated literary studies (NEUMANN, WIERLACHER). The most significant formations of contemporary interdisciplinary collaboration in Germany include the “Internationale Arbeitskreis zur Kulturforschung des Essens” (Heidelberg) and the network of the “Kulinaristik-Forum” (RheinNeckar).
Summary
The major concern of this article is to understand eating and drinking as a cultural phenomenon. It is about the connection between eating and communication and the better understanding of culinary discourse, which eludes a purely scientific and medical examination. Culinary discourse should be understood here in the widest sense, where speaking is considered as an act of speech and acts of eating are considered as communication. The first section of the article illustrates the basic relationships between eating, kitchens – as the locations of the occurrence – and communication; the second section describes a research project at University of Flensburg, which builds on the outlined knowledge. It is by looking at the triad of eating culture, communication and cuisine that insights can be gained into how intellectual, cultural and political change processes in society take place. By way of example, discourse levels of eating and patterns of communication become transparent by means of power discourses. Overall, this will result in developing new ways of looking at concepts of upbringing, education and counselling.
Keywords: Eating and communication, cultural phenomenon, culinary discourse, eating patterns, signs
