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Dissertation Information for Camilla Vivian Saulsbury

NAME:
- Camilla Vivian Saulsbury

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Sociology

SCHOOL:
- Indiana University (USA) (2005)

ADVISORS:
- Jane McLeod

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- Bernice Pescosolido
- Brian Powell
- S. Holly Stocking

MPACT Status: Incomplete - Not_Inspected

Title: Consuming home cooking: An investigation of the contemporary meaning of cooking and identity in the domestic sphere

Abstract: This study encompasses an examination of the meanings individuals attach to home cooking and, in particular, how such meanings are linked to issues of identity and home. Food and food preparation are such mundane aspects of everyday life that it is tempting to dismiss both as trivial. But the two are never simple matters of sustenance. The preparation and subsequent consumption of home cooking are, and always have been, fundamental markers of culture and identity. The three principal research questions for this study are (1) What is the contemporary meaning of home cooking? (2) What is the link between home cooking and identity? (3) What is the link between home cooking and metaphorical constructions of "home"? Data for the study are collected from three sources: in-depth interviews with cooking professionals, in-depth interviews with cooking contest participants, and focus groups with American consumers in Northeastern, Southern, Western and Midwestern regions of the United States. The findings indicate that home cooking can be understood as a form of cultural production in several respects. First, home cooking both establishes and reflects the temporal order and rhythms of everyday life. Home cooking is a reflection of the harriedness of modern life, but also serves as a means for creating a sense of "timeless" time. Additionally, the acts and products of home cooking serve as symbolic "gifts of time" both for those who cook and for those who receive home cooking from others. With regard to identity, the results reveal that a home cooking identity is based on traditional qualities (including creativity, generosity, competence and commitment) as well postmodern traits related to consumption and consumerism. Finally, the study findings indicate that the routines, constancy and control generated by participation in home cooking establish the meaning of home as a secure haven from the outside world.

MPACT Scores for Camilla Vivian Saulsbury

A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2010-10-05 12:30:33

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