The Sociology of Food Eating and the Place of Food in Society

Acclaimed as a classic text shortly after its original publication, The Sociology of Food is the first English language translation of Jean Pierre Poulain's seminal work.

Offering an introduction to the social study of food over recent decades, as well as new research into the food crises experienced today, the book provides a detailed overview of sociological and anthropological perspectives on food. Divided into two halves, Poulain firstly explores the continuities and changes in the modern diet using empirical research. From the effect of globalization on food production and supply, to evolving cultural responses to food, including cooking and eating practices, the management of consumer anxieties, and concerns over obesity and the medicalization of food, this section examines how changing food practices have shaped and are shaped by wider social trends. The second half presents a more theoretical perspective on the emergence of food as an academic focus for sociologists and anthropologists. Explaining the epistemological obstacles that lay in the way of this new field of study, Poulain shows how this new disciplinary field was established and continues to develop.

Destined to become a key text for students and scholars of sociology, anthropology and food studies, The Sociology of Food introduces the concept of 'alimentary social space' to a new, English-speaking readership.

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part one: Continuity and changes in the modern diet
Chapter I: Globalization and the outsourcing and localization of food production
Chapter II: Between the domestic and the economic: The ebbs and the flows of the food supply chain
Chapter III: The Evolution of our food culture
Chapter IV: From food safety hazards to anxiety management
Chapter V: Obesity and the medicalization of food
Part two: Sociological interest in food vs. the sociology of food
Chapter I: Socio-anthropological currents meet food facts
Chapter II: Epistemological obstacles
Chapter III: Sociological interest in food vs. the sociology of food
Chapter IV: The sociologies of food and their articulation
Chapter V: The sociology of French gastronomy
Chapter VI: The place of food in society: a tool for understanding food customs
Conclusion: In favor of constructivist positivism
Table of abbreviations
References
Index

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