I mentioned briefly before that the second half of my post-graduation summer would be filled with days on my computer in a caf\u00e9 and scanning books in Harvard\u2019s Schlesinger library\u2014all part of the research grant I received from the Carol K. Pforzheimer fellowship. As I have just begun to immerse myself in this research, I thought I\u2019d give a more in depth overview of the fellowship, the research process, and the information I\u2019ve collected so far.<\/p>\n
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What\u2019s great about the Carol K. Pforzheimer grant\u2014like my thesis grant before it\u2014is that the research topic can be on any anything as long as it utilizes the Schlesinger Library\u2019s holdings. Grants are for expenses of up to $2,500 and the final research can be published in a variety of forms. The Schlesinger Library has a wide variety of holdings on women\u2019s history, cooking, and poetry, among other topics.<\/p>\n
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My own specific topic is, \u201cThe Postmodern Culinary Plate\u201d. Through this project I plan to compose a thesis-sized project to answer the question, \u201cHow do contemporary shifts in food and drink culture in America highlight an actualization of a postmodern paradigm within present American culture?\u201d<\/p>\n
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I have begun to find and access old (before the 1980\u2019s) food and beverage advertisements, particularly of popular products sold by large corporations (e.g., Folgers, Hostess, Wonder Bread). Film and photographs on microform held in Schlesinger are of particular relevance, as are magazines as well with advertisements in them. I will also find and access old cooking magazines from the early 20th century until now. This will help aid my subproject of understanding the move away from small-scale, artisanal food products towards standardization in America (assembly line, processed foods, rise of McDonalds, etc.) after WWI and WWII, and back again towards a revitalization in \u201cartisanal\u201d and locally made foods (as per the \u201clocalism\u201d movement) today. Third, I will be researching the history and rise of chefs and specialists within the culinary field. Papers by individuals in the culinary field, including Julia Child, M.F.K. Fisher and others held in Schlesinger will be of particular relevance here. Fourth, I will use the Schlesinger collection of cookbooks to trace a history of certain food items that today have been subjected to deconstruction by molecular gastronomy chefs (e.g., Tortillas Espanola deconstructed by Chef Ferran Adri\u00e0, or the drink the Bloody Mary deconstructed by Chef Dave Arnold). Additionally, menus, letters and diaries that help place the evolution of a food will also be useful. This historical understanding of how a food gains its meaning (what it should look like, taste like, smell like) can then compared to the way that food is deconstructed (a tool of postmodernism) in contemporary culture, subverting the \u201cmeaning\u201d of the food by exposing the multiple meanings within it (e.g., how using all the ingredients of a Bloody Mary but combining them in a different way presents a related though unrecognizable product).<\/p>\n
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Researching in Schlesinger has been unique as none of the books from the library can be checked out, nor can bags be brought upstairs; photocopying has to be done by librarians so bringing a photo camera is encouraged instead. To preempt this, I started out spending hours at nearby Diesel Caf\u00e9<\/a> (in Davis Square, Cambridge) and Simon’s\u00a0Coffee Shop<\/a>\u00a0(in Porter Square, Cambridge) to search out the books, microfilms, and archives before arriving at the library. Here\u2019s a quick look at some of my current reading list:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1. My Life in France<\/em> \u2013 Julia Child<\/strong>: (Autobiography), this text provides a history of the perceived qualities of an American cook in the 1950\u2019s (seeking simplicity, timeliness, and an emphasis on early food preparation and reheating).<\/p>\n
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