Dr. Sammells is a cultural anthropologist whose research focuses on Bolivia, food, tourism, economic anthropology, and conceptions of time. She has conducted research in Tiwanaku, Bolivia, and among Bolivian migrants in Madrid, Spain. She spent 2023-2024 in Ushuaia, Argentina, conducting an ethnographic study on tourism to Antarctica. All publications are available on request. Address: Dept. of Sociology and Anthropology Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA 17837
Anthropologists training to do fieldwork in far-off, unfamiliar places prepare for significant ch... more Anthropologists training to do fieldwork in far-off, unfamiliar places prepare for significant challenges with regard to language, customs, and other cultural differences. However, like other travelers to unknown places, they are often unprepared to deal with the most basic and necessary requirement: food. Although there are many books on the anthropology of food, Adventures in Eating is the first intended to prepare students for the uncomfortable dining situations they may encounter over the course of their careers.
Whether sago grubs, jungle rats, termites, or the pungent durian fruit are on the table, participating in the act of sharing food can establish relationships vital to anthropologists? research practices and knowledge of their host cultures. Using their own experiences with unfamiliar-and sometimes unappealing-food practices and customs, the contributors explore such eating moments and how these moments can produce new understandings of culture and the meaning of food beyond the immediate experience of eating it. They also address how personal eating experiences and culinary dilemmas can shape the data and methodologies of the discipline.
The main readership of Adventures in Eating will be students in anthropology and other scholars, but the explosion of food media gives the book additional appeal for fans of No Reservations and Bizarre Foods on the Travel Channel.
Anthropologists training to do fieldwork in far-off, unfamiliar places prepare for significant ch... more Anthropologists training to do fieldwork in far-off, unfamiliar places prepare for significant challenges with regard to language, customs, and other cultural differences. However, like other travelers to unknown places, they are often unprepared to deal with the most basic and necessary requirement: food. Although there are many books on the anthropology of food, this book is the first intended to prepare students for the uncomfortable dining situations they may encounter over the course of their careers. Whether sago grubs, jungle rats, termites, or the pungent durian fruit are on the table, participating in the act of sharing food can establish relationships vital to anthropologists' research practices and knowledge of their host cultures. Using their own experiences with unfamiliar - and sometimes unappealing - food practices and customs, the contributors explore such eating moments and how these moments can produce new understandings of culture and the meaning of food beyond the immediate experience of eating it. They also address how personal eating experiences and culinary dilemmas can shape the data and methodologies of the discipline.
Tiwanaku, Bolivia, is a pre-Columbian archaeological site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the ... more Tiwanaku, Bolivia, is a pre-Columbian archaeological site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the “capital of the Aymara world.” Annually on the Winter Solstice (June 21), Tiwanaku and its nearby quiet village of the same name are transformed into a place of national importance. Urban Bolivian pilgrims who attend the Solstice participate in a project of becoming part of “the Aymara,” laying claim to the abstracted Aymara as the root of the nation. This ritual event emphasizes “the Aymara” as both descendents of pre-Columbian ...
Anthropologists training to do fieldwork in far-off, unfamiliar places prepare for significant ch... more Anthropologists training to do fieldwork in far-off, unfamiliar places prepare for significant challenges with regard to language, customs, and other cultural differences. However, like other travelers to unknown places, they are often unprepared to deal with the most basic and necessary requirement: food. Although there are many books on the anthropology of food, Adventures in Eating is the first intended to prepare students for the uncomfortable dining situations they may encounter over the course of their careers.
Whether sago grubs, jungle rats, termites, or the pungent durian fruit are on the table, participating in the act of sharing food can establish relationships vital to anthropologists? research practices and knowledge of their host cultures. Using their own experiences with unfamiliar-and sometimes unappealing-food practices and customs, the contributors explore such eating moments and how these moments can produce new understandings of culture and the meaning of food beyond the immediate experience of eating it. They also address how personal eating experiences and culinary dilemmas can shape the data and methodologies of the discipline.
The main readership of Adventures in Eating will be students in anthropology and other scholars, but the explosion of food media gives the book additional appeal for fans of No Reservations and Bizarre Foods on the Travel Channel.
Anthropologists training to do fieldwork in far-off, unfamiliar places prepare for significant ch... more Anthropologists training to do fieldwork in far-off, unfamiliar places prepare for significant challenges with regard to language, customs, and other cultural differences. However, like other travelers to unknown places, they are often unprepared to deal with the most basic and necessary requirement: food. Although there are many books on the anthropology of food, this book is the first intended to prepare students for the uncomfortable dining situations they may encounter over the course of their careers. Whether sago grubs, jungle rats, termites, or the pungent durian fruit are on the table, participating in the act of sharing food can establish relationships vital to anthropologists' research practices and knowledge of their host cultures. Using their own experiences with unfamiliar - and sometimes unappealing - food practices and customs, the contributors explore such eating moments and how these moments can produce new understandings of culture and the meaning of food beyond the immediate experience of eating it. They also address how personal eating experiences and culinary dilemmas can shape the data and methodologies of the discipline.
Tiwanaku, Bolivia, is a pre-Columbian archaeological site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the ... more Tiwanaku, Bolivia, is a pre-Columbian archaeological site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the “capital of the Aymara world.” Annually on the Winter Solstice (June 21), Tiwanaku and its nearby quiet village of the same name are transformed into a place of national importance. Urban Bolivian pilgrims who attend the Solstice participate in a project of becoming part of “the Aymara,” laying claim to the abstracted Aymara as the root of the nation. This ritual event emphasizes “the Aymara” as both descendents of pre-Columbian ...
The essays are organized around four main themes: food for the multitude, food regulations, food ... more The essays are organized around four main themes: food for the multitude, food regulations, food innovations, and fashions in eating. The first section adopts a comparative approach to analyze the impact of urbanization on food in different European cities. Corinna Treitel's essay,“Food Science/Food Politics: Max Rubner and 'Rational Nutrition'in Fin-de-Siècle Berlin,” looks at the political implications of the role nutritional science played in the decisions about how to feed the masses and how to ensure the success of the German ...
In the seventeenth century, the city of Potosí (now in Bolivia) was famous worldwide for the colo... more In the seventeenth century, the city of Potosí (now in Bolivia) was famous worldwide for the colossal silver riches extracted from the Cerro Rico mountain through a phenomenal abuse of human life. This mountain, and the mita labor system employed by the Spanish to mine it, has attracted much research. In her innovative work, Jane E. Mangan focuses not on the mines but on the pragmatics of how Potosí was provisioned. This city's exploding population brought diverse peoples together into an urban space that quickly came to rely on market ...
Comments on SLACA Presidential Lecture by Steffan Igor Ayora-Diaz, presented at the AAA 2016 in M... more Comments on SLACA Presidential Lecture by Steffan Igor Ayora-Diaz, presented at the AAA 2016 in Minneapolis.
Uploads
Whether sago grubs, jungle rats, termites, or the pungent durian fruit are on the table, participating in the act of sharing food can establish relationships vital to anthropologists? research practices and knowledge of their host cultures. Using their own experiences with unfamiliar-and sometimes unappealing-food practices and customs, the contributors explore such eating moments and how these moments can produce new understandings of culture and the meaning of food beyond the immediate experience of eating it. They also address how personal eating experiences and culinary dilemmas can shape the data and methodologies of the discipline.
The main readership of Adventures in Eating will be students in anthropology and other scholars, but the explosion of food media gives the book additional appeal for fans of No Reservations and Bizarre Foods on the Travel Channel.
Whether sago grubs, jungle rats, termites, or the pungent durian fruit are on the table, participating in the act of sharing food can establish relationships vital to anthropologists? research practices and knowledge of their host cultures. Using their own experiences with unfamiliar-and sometimes unappealing-food practices and customs, the contributors explore such eating moments and how these moments can produce new understandings of culture and the meaning of food beyond the immediate experience of eating it. They also address how personal eating experiences and culinary dilemmas can shape the data and methodologies of the discipline.
The main readership of Adventures in Eating will be students in anthropology and other scholars, but the explosion of food media gives the book additional appeal for fans of No Reservations and Bizarre Foods on the Travel Channel.