Bourdieu's Food Space Chart (huh? What?)
Anyone remember this chart from Pierre Bourdieu's Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste? It basically classified foods based upon our social status, education, and (societal) class,
I know I do, as does Molly Watson of Gastronomica, and to my awe, she has updated it for today. As she puts it
(click to embiggen quite a bit)
I know I do, as does Molly Watson of Gastronomica, and to my awe, she has updated it for today. As she puts it
So, without further ado, the new and updated chart!I was struck again by the elegance of such complex information displayed so simply. Parts of the chart hold true 30-plus years later and a continent away (raw and recherché food can still be seen as the purview of those with more cultural than economic capital), and yet other elements have completely flip-flopped. Charcuterie, listed as a choice of those without economic or cultural capital, has, if nothing else, become recherché.[...] What I found rather glorious was how, when I thought through any single food item (i.e. yogurt), it couldn’t really be placed in one specific location. Rather, specific versions of it would belong in different places. Such are the choices and range of our foodstuffs. Such is the ever-widening world of human taste.
(click to embiggen quite a bit)
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