Becoming a vegetarian: the role of socio-materiality in change of foodway
Theme:
3.1 Farther reaches of theoretical and methodological explorations
What:
Paper in a Symposium (Symp)
When:
3:00 PM, Thursday 31 Aug 2017
(30 minutes)
Breaks:
Afternoon Refreshments 03:30 PM to 03:50 PM (20 minutes)
Where:
Convention Center
- 204 A
How:
Foodways (activities and representations related to food) are strongly rooted in the materiality of one’s own body, the products consumed and the broader environment (Anderson, 2005). At the same time, they are strongly oriented by the socio-cultural environment, through which they are transmitted in a more or less formal context (Kontopodis, 2015; Ochs, Pontecorvo & Fasulo, 1996). Studies about change in foodways highlighted the role of values and representations in this process of change (Lewin, 1943; Ossipow, 1997). My purpose is to bring the focus on the socio-material components of this change through the example of trajectories of people changing their consumption of animal products. Analyzing interview and video-based data, I will present which socio-material elements are relevant in the development of these trajectories, and how these play a role in the process of change. I address change drawing on a socio-cultural understanding of human development in terms of identity dynamics, knowledge building and meaning-making (PerretClermont & Zittoun, 2002).