The point in the reading that I wish to respond to is the fact that intellectuals wished to Americanize immigrants but evetnually tolerated their food. That fact always seemed to be of great irony to me. People who disliked every other cultural aspect of a different ethnic group could still appreciate their food. I actually had a personal experience with such a phenomenon. In the Chinese community, there is a great deal of prejudicial sentiment against African Americans and vice versa. Aware of these sentiments, it always shocked me how many African Americans frequented Chinese restaurants, having civil and mutually beneficial discourse. But outside of that setting, having African and Chinese Americans in close quarters was a potential recipe for disaster, excuse the pun. While race relations may never be perfect, it is good to know that there will always be certain cultural spheres where peoples with not always positive relations can find common ground and mutual respect.
Course Information
The Peopling of New York City: MHC150 Sec.03
Rm HN C107, Wednesday, 10:10am-12:40pm
Professor Mike Benediktsson
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I generally agree, but I also think that an appreciation for the cultural products of another people (e.g. food, film, music) often bears an ambiguous relationship to genuine interethnic understanding or cooperation. In other words, liking authentic Mexican food has really nothing to do with befriending people of Mexican origin, particularly in this era of globalization and cultural omniverousness. So I guess the question is, if some Chinese Americans in NYC bear ill will toward African-Americans, does it matter that somebody likes somebody else’s food? It’s an open question: it might matter, in fact it probably does matter, but when and where? English colonials could develop a taste for Indian food precisely because there was no threat to their power in doing so. Food might help people cross boundaries, but my hunch is that its ability to do so is highly contingent upon social and historical circumstance.