Home Cooking in the Global Village: Caribbean Food from Buccaneers to Ecotourists

(Hardback)

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Description

Belize, a tiny corner of the Caribbean wedged into Central America, has been a fast food nation since buccaneers and pirates first stole ashore. As early as the 1600s it was already caught in the great paradox of globalization how can you stay local and relish your own home cooking, while tasting the delights of the global marketplace Menus, recipes and bad colonial poetry combine with Wilks sharp anthropological insight to give an important new perspective on the perils and problems of globalization.

Reviews

"Home Cooking in the Global Village is an outstanding example of contemporary anthropology. It offers a good balance between ethnographic and historical information. With its compelling presentation on the effects of globalization, this book is ideal for courses on Latin America or the Caribbean. As the book considers the role of food, any course on the anthropology of food would benefit from it as well." Gastronomica 'What a marvellous book this is ... If you have any interest in globalization, consumerism, the Caribbean, or food, this is a must-read book.' American Anthropologist 'This book represents a good introductory text. The clarity of its discussion and the links between chapters make it a useful resource for undergraduate students.' Journal of Consumer Culture 'Wilk's narrative food history of a timberland backwater reborn as a tourist mecca redefines the term 'colonial.' It makes a solid theoretical contribution to clarifying the real meanings of terms like 'fusion' and 'blending,' when applied to food in the modern world. A thoughtful and stimulating essay on the present, pitched entertainingly against a tatterdemalion and ragged colonial past.' Sidney Mintz, Research Professor, Johns Hopkins University, and author of Sweetness and Power, and Tasting Food, Tasting Freedom. 'This highly readable and enjoyable book is by far the most successful attempt I have come across to convey the story of globalization through the careful depiction of changes in everyday life. It is a revelation in showing how both international relations and local politics can be viewed through the fascinating history of food in Belize.' Daniel Miller, Department of Anthropology, University College London 'A tour de force! In clear, lively prose, Richard Wilk presents a compelling case study of how a very small country's diet, culture, and economy interact with very large transnational processes. Home Cooking in the Global Village offers a provocative new way to view colonialism, globalization, and consumer culture.' Warren Belasco, editor of Food, Culture and Society and Professor of American Studies, University of Maryland Baltimore County 'Without a doubt the best thing i've read on globalization and consumption.' Joel Stillerman, Grand Valley State University 'This work is the closest thing we have to a sustained treatment of the country that has occupied Wilk's attention for decades.' James G Carrier, Indiana and Oxford Brookes Universities

Author Bio

Richard Wilk is Professor of Anthropology and Gender Studies, Indiana University.