Participation Type
Paper
Presentation #1 Title
The Cornbread Project: An Introduction to Field Research and Foodways
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Culinary expert Ronnie Lundy writes that in the mountain south, “Cornbread was the daily staff of life to such an extent that… it was often referred to simply as bread.” The Cornbread Project is an educational unit that utilizes experiential learning to instruct students on the significance of cultural contexts; introduce ethnography and field research methods; and interrogate the subjectivity of “taste.” A grain indigenous to North America, corn has long been a staple of Southern, African American, and Native American diets. It is a crucial topic when teaching about Appalachian foodways and provides grist for the mill of cross cultural comparison in courses including social science, folklore, and literature. At the onset of the project, corn’s importance is presented through lectures and required reading. Students are introduced to field research methods and then encouraged to question family members, neighbors, or friends about cornbread. Fieldwork goals are to comprehend the rich contexts for preparing and consuming cornbread, as well as to collect recipes. Ideally, students bake cornbread with an interviewee, or at least, attempt a recipe on their own, and write a field report that is then graded. The resulting cornbread is brought to class for judging in a cornbread bake-off. Students vote on the top cornbreads, but also analyze their subjective tastes, and compare traditional with non-traditional recipes.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Susan L.F. Isaacs is a inter-disciplinary professor at Union College. While her home department is English, she also teaches courses in social science and yoga.
The Cornbread Project: An Introduction to Field Research and Foodways
Culinary expert Ronnie Lundy writes that in the mountain south, “Cornbread was the daily staff of life to such an extent that… it was often referred to simply as bread.” The Cornbread Project is an educational unit that utilizes experiential learning to instruct students on the significance of cultural contexts; introduce ethnography and field research methods; and interrogate the subjectivity of “taste.” A grain indigenous to North America, corn has long been a staple of Southern, African American, and Native American diets. It is a crucial topic when teaching about Appalachian foodways and provides grist for the mill of cross cultural comparison in courses including social science, folklore, and literature. At the onset of the project, corn’s importance is presented through lectures and required reading. Students are introduced to field research methods and then encouraged to question family members, neighbors, or friends about cornbread. Fieldwork goals are to comprehend the rich contexts for preparing and consuming cornbread, as well as to collect recipes. Ideally, students bake cornbread with an interviewee, or at least, attempt a recipe on their own, and write a field report that is then graded. The resulting cornbread is brought to class for judging in a cornbread bake-off. Students vote on the top cornbreads, but also analyze their subjective tastes, and compare traditional with non-traditional recipes.
