ERIC Number: EJ1159895
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 16
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1534-9322
EISSN: N/A
Taco Literacy: Public Advocacy and Mexican Food in the U.S. Nuevo South
Alvarez, Steven
Composition Studies, v45 n2 p151-166 Fall 2017
This article describes a brief moment when the University of Kentucky (UK) became the national focus of conversations around food literacies for a writing class about tacos in the U.S. South. Author Steven Alvarez explains to "Munchies" writer Javier Cabral that taco literacy goes beyond an appreciation of tacos. Alvarez describes his vision of taco literacy as a course engaging qualitative research studying foodways and the social, cultural, economic, and symbolic practices of producing and consuming food as a prism for understanding demographic change and social issues facing Mexican immigrants in their new home of Lexington, Kentucky. Alvarez established four goals in organizing the course. Students would: (1) write about their personal connections to Mexican food and their sense of Mexican food as part of Southern and global cuisines; (2) engage with food politics by researching the production of ingredients in a particular dish of their preference; (3) further research local variances of their chosen dish and its movement to different locations; and (4) explore foodways social movements and both Southern and transnational food activist voices. Course texts, course goals, major assignments, and the grading breakdown are provided.
Descriptors: Advocacy, Food, Writing Instruction, Literacy, College Curriculum, Hispanic American Culture, Rhetoric
University of Cincinnati. Department of English, P.O. Box 210069, Cincinnati, OH 45221. Tel: 513-556-6519; Fax: 513-556-5960; e-mail: compstudies@uc.edu; Web site: http://www.uc.edu/journals/composition-studies.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Kentucky
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A