CONN 110 | Edible Identity: American Chinese Foodways

Some believe that there are more Chinese restaurants in the U.S. than McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, and Wendy's combined. Many of the Chinese dishes most known to Americans, however, are not Chinese. What is Chinese food? Are Kung Pao dishes more "authentically" Chinese than chop suey? Why did this immigrant cuisine become so popular in the U.S.? This course explores American Chinese foodways as a form of cultural exchange, a chapter in American history, and a marker of Chinese-American identity, in the context of transnational interactions. Drawing on materials such as book chapters, academic essays, newspaper and magazine articles, films, Internet videos, as well as personal photographs of food and restaurants, the course examines the subject of foodways from the perspectives of Asian-American studies, food studies, gender studies, sociology, anthropology, and film and literature. Through the semester, students will have opportunities to taste and make Chinese food in and outside of the classroom, and work together on building a website about local Chinese restaurants in and around Tacoma.