Sociology Seminar 15 Mar 2-3pm- 'Eating out in three English cities: casualization and social division' by Alan Warde, Jessica Paddock and Jennifer Whillans
| Dates: | 15 March 2017 |
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| Times: | 14:00 - 15:00 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | School of Social Sciences |
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| Who is it for: | University staff |
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| Speaker: | Prof Alan Warde, Dr Jessica Paddock, Dr Jen Whillians |
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You are warmly invited to the March Sociology seminar. To be held on Weds 15th March 2-3pm in the Hanson Room, HBS.
The seminar will be given by Prof Alan Warde, Dr Jessica Paddock and Dr Jennifer Whillans of the Sustainable Consumption Institute/Sociology.
The talk is entitled: Eating out in three English cities: casualization and social division
Abstract
This presentation begins by examining aspects of the experience of eating out in 2015 and its change over time. In 2015 we repeated an earlier study of eating out in three cities in England in with similar coverage of topics and mostly with identically worded questions, and conducted follow-up in-depth interviews with some of the respondents. We focus on the changing reasons and meanings of the activity as breadth of experience in the population augments and eating main meals outside the home becomes less exceptional or special. What we call ‘ordinary’ events have become more prevalent, and we delineate two forms of ‘ordinary’ occasions; the ‘impromptu’ and the ‘regularised’. We describe the consequences for popular understanding of the social significance of eating out in 2015, its informalisation and normalisation.
We also present findings that are currently shaping our ongoing analysis concerned with social differentiation of tastes for meals out of the home. We focus on the breadth of exposure to variety of restaurant types and cuisine styles in order to address debates about distinction, cultural omnivorousness and cosmopolitanism. This part of the presentation uses regression analysis of survey results to reveal social differentiation, with special reference to the effects of gender, age, ethnicity and class on culinary taste. The data reveal the social and symbolic significance of variety of experience in visits to commercial sources for meals and degrees of familiarity with diverse ethnic cuisines. It is argued that culinary tastes are a mark of social distinction but that it is important not to conflate internal goods deriving from enthusiastic engagement in this particular cultural field with pursuit of social advantage.
Travel and Contact Information
Find event
Hanson Room
Humanities Bridgeford Street
Manchester
