The Handbook of Food and Anthropology - by Jakob A Klein & James L Watson (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Joint Winner of the CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title of the Year Award 2017.

20 original essays by leading figures in the discipline examine traditional areas of research as well as cutting-edge areas of inquiry. Divided into three parts - Food, Self and Others; Food Security, Nutrition and Food Safety; Food as Craft, Industry and Ethics - the book covers topics such as identity, commensality, locality, migration, ethical consumption, artisanal foods, and children's food. Each chapter features rich ethnography alongside wider analysis of the subject. Internationally renowned scholars offer insights into their core areas of specialty including Michael Herzfeld on culinary stereotypes, David Sutton on how to conduct an anthropology of cooking, Johan Pottier on food insecurity, and Melissa Caldwell on practicing food anthropology.

Now available in paperback, this is a field-defining survey of the area and its key themes. A new afterword by Cristina Grasseni adds a reflection on the original essays and how the field has developed to this new in paperback edition.

Review Quotes

An excellent collection that would make Goody and Mintz, to whom the book is dedicated, proud.
Julie Guthman, University of California at Santa Cruz, USA

Jakob Klein and James Watson bring together a welcome addition to the world of food studies in their new book The Handbook of Food and Anthropology. The book provides an insightful reference for anthropology and food studies scholars because of its attention to social and cultural contexts and rich ethnographic accounts [...]
Kimberly Lok Wong, Temple University, USA

The volume's greatest strength is, perhaps, that it is forward looking, and thus very useful for defining a set of issues that are likely to occupy anthropological research for years to come ... For food scholars, the "Handbook+? is a must-read.
Anthropos

About the Author

Jakob A. Klein is Lecturer in Social Anthropology at SOAS, University of London, UK.

James L. Watson is Fairbank Professor of Chinese Society and Professor of Anthropology, Emeritus, Harvard University, USA.