This thesis is a study of the Slow Food Movement (SFM), charting the journey of this grassroots organisation from its ideological and material roots in Bra, Italy to its meteoric development in the advanced capitalist landscapes of England and USA as a consumer-driven, 'eco-gastronomy' movement. It takes to heart the movement's promise for a 'revolution of taste', from which was derived four significant themes, namely: Commodity, Time, Ethics and Aesthetics. Fieldwork was carried out in Italy, England and USA, including sixy-four recorded interviews and ethnographic, moment-to-moment research. The thesis argues that the seemingly archaic attitudes held towards the commodity object, relations of time, ethical values and aesthetic pleasures are the very radical and social action that the SFM and its members undertake in their quest to lead, and live a comtemporary life. A 'nesting' approach was employed to demonstate the strength of this assertion. Firstly, a Marxist analysis moved an undifferentiated commodity towards exploring the character and typology of 'slow food'. Secondly, theories on speed and time consciousness urged a rethinking of time's linearity and the affordance of memory. Thirdly, a dialogue engaged Aristotelian virtues with relations of one and an/other. Fourthly, art encountered aesthetics in delineating the movement's sensorium. The SFM speaks to a modem politics of emotions, ideas and timeliness. The materiality of 'slow food' exhibits taste-in-action, a constantly productive knowledge, sensation and expression of palatable bodies. The complexity of time entwines imagination with responsibility. A good, balanced life - eudaimonia - is fashioned from a touching sociality. Geographies of physicality, sociability and sensuality increasingly influence a contentious food world. This thesis demonstrates that the SFM is a force of life. For the members and chosen food matters, the SFM is that which they in name advocate as well as exceed to, in effect, impel its aims and ambitions. This thesis regards an ontology of 'going there', and a philosophy of living creatively.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:544328 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Tay, Yi Lin Adeline |
| Publisher | University of Bristol |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://hdl.handle.net/1983/f7f2bd57-4cea-418f-b3d0-f5d632cfc896 |
Page generated in 0.0015 seconds