{"title":"Being Moroccan abroad. Objects and culinary practices in women subjectivation","authors":"E. Mescoli","doi":"10.1515/irsr-2017-0002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/irsr-2017-0002","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The definition of the self is a complex process which unfolds in everyday life though the use of objects and the performance of practices. Among others, food and culinary objects and practices contribute to the material foundation of subjectivation. Starting from De Certeau’s analysis of everyday life (1984) and adopting Warnier’s praxeological approach to subjectivation, our article aims at studying how two Moroccan women living in Milan’s suburbs make themselves through the materiality of food and related practices in a migration context. They move in peculiar ways among the constraints imposed both by the new local context and the country of origin food cultures. Through everyday food practices, women define a proper Moroccan “style” (Gell, 1998) made of diverse life stories as well as of an embodied collective memory anchored to materiality; they witness of different manners of being Moroccan, and of being it abroad.","PeriodicalId":37251,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Social Research","volume":"7 1","pages":"12 - 5"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/irsr-2017-0002","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48340343","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The ransom of mussels in the lagoon of Venice: when the louses become “black gold”","authors":"Rita Vianello","doi":"10.1515/irsr-2017-0004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/irsr-2017-0004","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The article presented here is rooted in our doctoral research in Ethnology and Social History developed in the lagoon of Venice in 2010-2013. It is a research based on the methodology of ethnographic field research, in parallel with the bibliographic and archive research. The fieldwork was conducted between March 2010 and August 2012 with 21 informants, fishermen aged 20 to 90 years. In this article we analyze how the formation of a new food taste is a process that can be defined “cultural”. We can meet an example in the history of mussel-farming on the island of Pellestrina, an island of fishermen in the southern lagoon of Venice, where the exploitation of this mollusk as food and economic resource appears rather late in history. Our research enabled us to find some frequent allusions to the alleged toxicity of this mollusk, called in Venice peòcio, that is to say “louse”, and once considered inedible. What mechanisms have transformed today the mussels into an appreciated and great demanded food, into “traditional food”?","PeriodicalId":37251,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Social Research","volume":"8 11","pages":"22 - 30"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41258994","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Leisurely consumption, the legacy of European cafes","authors":"P. Cleave","doi":"10.1515/irsr-2017-0005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/irsr-2017-0005","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Eating out for many is regarded as a leisure activity, embracing the consumption of food, drink and place. In contrast to the ubiquitous and homogenous branded coffee shops and cafes found in most cities are examples from earlier eras, which offer consumers a degree of differentiation. They represent a culinary legacy and heritage by association with time and place. Cafes are utilised in the two case study examples, Deller’s Café, Exeter, United Kingdom, and Café Kranzler, Berlin, Germany, as social spaces, and in the context of tourism, attractions. The appeal of social spaces with an historical legacy is presented as the basis for further social research opportunities. These, it is proposed present a way of looking at the past to learn about the present.","PeriodicalId":37251,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Social Research","volume":"7 1","pages":"31 - 45"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46559743","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Prolegomena to the Romanian Sociology and Historiography of Food","authors":"B. Bucur","doi":"10.1515/irsr-2017-0007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/irsr-2017-0007","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article examines the dietary habits of the predominantly rural (and also urban) population from Romania, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In order to access valid data regarding the diet of the local population, we used the analysis of social documents: journals and memoirs of foreign travelers transiting the Romanian Principalities (Wallachia and Moldavia) throughout the nineteenth century, respectively the monographic research of the Sociological School of Bucharest published mainly in the magazine called Sociologie Românească (1936-1942). At various points in time, we employed comparisons between the diet of the people from urban and rural environments, or between the food regimens of adults and children, correlations between the dietary habits and health status of the population, and between the dietary habits from Romania and those from other European and South American countries. A reading of the current article reveals certain a continuity, for hundreds of years, concerning the deficient dietary regimen of the Romanian peasant, who relied heavily on mămăligă, eaten together with several dairy products. Another conclusion is that, in the rural environment, food scarcity was not economically conditioned: even in the relatively prosperous households that were supplied with all the necessary aliments, women prepared plain, tasteless dishes, because they did not know how to cook. And finally, from a theoretical perspective, in this article we aim to address the rural roots of Romanian historiography and sociology of food (which we shall attempt to examine against similar scientific approaches from Western Europe).","PeriodicalId":37251,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Social Research","volume":"7 1","pages":"57 - 68"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42854305","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"When “Germany” became the new “France”? Royal Dining at the Bavarian Court of Maximilian II and the Political Gastronomy of Johann Rottenhöfer in Transnational European Perspective, 1830–1870","authors":"Claudia Kreklau","doi":"10.1515/irsr-2017-0006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/irsr-2017-0006","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract While France defined European hâute cuisine (royal dining for the purpose of expressing rankdistinction) around 1800, by the mid-nineteenth century the French court failed to hold the best chefs of Europe. Other European courts were rising in power and asserting their absolutist ideals in the century of revolution and socio-political change using meals. Within this context, the culinary art of Johann Rottenhofer in service of Maximilian II of Bavaria synthesized Antonin Careme’s hâute cuisine and Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin’s “political gastronomy” to communicate peace, foster international bonds, and establish equality among sovereigns. The works of Levi-Strauss and Norbert Elias find resonance in these culinary practices, wherein monarchs were represented at the table in the form of food. Mid-nineteenth century European monarchs not only appreciated the cultural symbolism and the political significance of food, but actively exploited it as a form of communication. I rely on the typologies provided by Ken Albala and Sara Peterson to decode food meanings in the cookbooks written by royals’ chefs after retirement.","PeriodicalId":37251,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Social Research","volume":"7 1","pages":"46 - 56"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48247201","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
G. Mollenhorst, M. V. van Duijn, J. Rydgren, Christofer R Edling
{"title":"Triadic Closure in Core Networks: Disentangling the Effects of Social Distance, National Origin Similarity and Shared Contexts","authors":"G. Mollenhorst, M. V. van Duijn, J. Rydgren, Christofer R Edling","doi":"10.1515/irsr-2016-0018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/irsr-2016-0018","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Acknowledging that the composition and structure of personal networks is affected by meeting opportunities, social distance, and national origin similarity, we aim to disentangle their association with triadic closure in the core of personal networks. We use data (collected 2009) on the core networks of three groups of Swedes (all born in 1990): native Swedes, and first- and second-generation immigrants from Iran and former Yugoslavia, where the respondent (ego) mentions up to five core network members (alters) and whether each pair of alters (dyad) know each other (triadic closure). A three-level multiple membership logistic regression model is performed, which allows the testing of dyadic alter-alter effects, ego effects, and their interaction (i.e., ‘triadic’ effects) on triadic closure. We show that social distance, national origin similarity, and the sharing of social contexts are all associated with triadic closure in the expected direction, and that the effects of social distance and national origin similarity become smaller if shared social contexts are taken into account. The effects of the sharing of social contexts are the largest and are robust, indicating that shared social contexts are a dominant and more important condition for triadic closure than are similarity on relevant socio-demographic characteristics.","PeriodicalId":37251,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Social Research","volume":"9 1","pages":"146 - 162"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-11-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/irsr-2016-0018","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66817731","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
W. Shrum, Antony Palackal, Dan-Bright Dzorgbo, Paul Mbatia, M. Schafer, P. Miller, Heather M. Rackin
{"title":"Network Decline in the Internet Era: Evidence from Ghana, Kenya, and India, 1994-2010","authors":"W. Shrum, Antony Palackal, Dan-Bright Dzorgbo, Paul Mbatia, M. Schafer, P. Miller, Heather M. Rackin","doi":"10.1515/irsr-2016-0019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/irsr-2016-0019","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Has the size of personal networks changed since the invention of the Internet? We use a unique longitudinal survey during the primary period of Internet diffusion in Africa and Asia to address three questions. First, has the overall size of professional networks changed? Second, has there been a shift in the kinds of relationships people maintain? Third, are there identifiable patterns in the nature of the shifts over time? We analyze data on nine professional linkages reported by a population of scientists and educators in Kenya, Ghana, and the Indian State of Kerala over a sixteen year period (1994-2010). Results show that extended personal networks experienced a dramatic decline during the initial diffusion of new communication technologies, followed by partial recovery. An increase in collaboration has been accompanied by a decline in friendship.","PeriodicalId":37251,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Social Research","volume":"6 1","pages":"163 - 171"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66817739","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Recent Advancements, Developments and Applications of Personal Network Analysis","authors":"Marian-Gabriel Hâncean, J. Molina, M. Lubbers","doi":"10.1515/irsr-2016-0017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/irsr-2016-0017","url":null,"abstract":"We are pleased to introduce recent advancements in personal network analysis and applications in this special issue of the International Review of Social Research – IRSR. The idea of this special issue yielded in the summer of 2015, during the 8th edition of the Summer Course on personal networks given by the Universitat Autonoma deBarcelona(specifically, the egolab-GRAFO research team at the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, UAB). That idea very soon turned into an invitation to international scholars to submit original papers focused on either a fully personal research design or on a design combining personal network analysis with other approaches (e.g. mixed research methods). In addition, we encouraged authors from all disciplines and fields to submit both theoretically and methodologically oriented papers, as long as they employ a personal network analysis approach. In the end, a bouquet of ten papers was kept for publication. Equally eclectic and complementary, these papers are related under the personal network analysis umbrella. In what follows, our foreword continues with two interrelated sections. First, we provide a glance on the field of personal network studies, which targets a wide general public less familiarized with structurally analytic approaches (for a detailed view on structural thinking underpinning social network analysis (SNA), see Borgatti et al. 2014; Wellman, 1988). And, second, we briefly introduce each of the ten papers comprising this special issue.","PeriodicalId":37251,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Social Research","volume":"6 1","pages":"137 - 145"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/irsr-2016-0017","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66817669","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Personal Network Approach in Mixed-Methods Design to Investigate Transnational Social Protection","authors":"B. Bilecen","doi":"10.1515/irsr-2016-0025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/irsr-2016-0025","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Research on the cross-border practices that underpin the spatial dimension of personal relationships involves also the study of protective resources (e.g. care, information exchange and financial assistance). However, studies that examine such transnational practices within migrants’ personal networks face methodological challenges at both the data collection level and the data analysis level. For a comprehensive analysis of migrants’ life worlds, new methodological approaches to transnational practices and resource flows within personal networks are essential. Thus, this article aims to illustrate ways to study social protection by empirically capturing such practices. In addition to demonstrating that the combined use of personal network analysis and qualitative interviews is a fruitful approach, this study used a mixed-methods design contributing to capture the interrelationship between transnational social protection patterns and migrants’ strategies, as well as their meanings.","PeriodicalId":37251,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Social Research","volume":"6 1","pages":"233 - 244"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/irsr-2016-0025","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66817906","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Eliciting data on social relationships: The use of hand-drawn network maps in tracing the perception of digitally mediated social ties","authors":"C. Reyes","doi":"10.1515/irsr-2016-0027","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/irsr-2016-0027","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The emergence of online social networking platforms established a new way of identifying ourselves as being related to other individuals. Previous research has looked at the impact these ‘networking’ applications have on individuals’ everyday lives. Nonetheless, obtaining convincing data on how individuals assess the quality of digitally mediated social relationships has often been perceived challenging. Drawing on a methodological framework rooted in a social network analysis approach, this paper traces the suitability of hand-drawn network maps for eliciting data on how individuals give meaning to digitally mediated social relationships by comparing it to traditional tools used in social network analysis. The results show that using hand-drawn network maps in this particular context provides respondents with a more tangible resource to recall data on digitally mediated social relationships. In particular, this methodological approach elicits substantial data on abstract thematic areas that are typically difficult to recall using standardised techniques.","PeriodicalId":37251,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Social Research","volume":"6 1","pages":"256 - 268"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66817953","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}