Authenticity, Personal Relationships and the Aura of Home The Case of the Chinese American Restaurant
Main Article Content
Abstract
Restaurants, especially those with an ethnic theme, provide far more than an eating experience; they speak of culture, history, and relationships. As Lucy Long points out, ethnic restaurants are part of a culinary experience that “reflect complex networks of cultural, social, economic and aesthetic systems” (1998:181). This may be true of all restaurants, in that all restaurants attempt to create an atmosphere of one kind or another and have cultural and historical groundings, but an additional aspect of the ethnic restaurant is their creation of the Other. Ethnic restaurants are “representative of the other” and provide a “negotiated” view of cultures via “culinary tourism” for the clientele (Long 2004:21). Whether the existence of such restaurants are driven by economic survival of immigrants (Barbas 2003), business practicality (Rosdahl 1995), or the desire for safe adventures into other cultures (Long 1998, 2004) could be debated, but one of the most intriguing aspects of such endeavors is the discursive creation of and reliance on authenticity, particularly the clientele’s “search for authenticity” as “a fundamentally emotional and moral quest” (Bendix 1997:7).
Article Details
Digest: A Journal of Foodways & Culture Article Publishing Agreement The Foodways Section of the American Folklore Society (the "Publisher") and Author(s) agree as follows:
1. Publication and Promotion: In consideration of the Publisher's agreement to publish the Work, Author(s) hereby grant and assign to Publisher the non-exclusive right to print, publish, reproduce, or distribute the Work throughout the world in all means of expression by any method known or hereafter developed, including electronic format, and to market or sell the Work or any part of it as the Publisher sees fit. Author(s) further grant Publisher the right to use Author name(s) in association with the Work in published form and in advertising and promotional materials.
2. Copyright: Copyright of the Work remains in the Author(s)’ name(s), and Author(s) grant the journal right of first publication.
3. Prior and Post Publication and Attribution: Author(s) agree not to publish the Work in print form prior to publication of the Work by the Publisher. Author(s) may enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of Digest’s published version of the work (such as posting to an institutional repository or publishing in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal. Author(s) agree to cite, by author(s), title, and publisher, the original Digest: A Journal of Foodways & Culture publication when subsequently publishing the Work elsewhere.
4. Author Representations: The Author(s) represent and warrant that the Work: (a) is the Author(s)’ original Work and that the Author(s) have full power to enter into this Agreement; (b) does not infringe the copyright, property, proprietary or personal rights of any third party; and (c) contains no material that is obscene, libelous, defamatory or previously published, in whole or in part, except as follows: when apparently “obscene, libelous, defamatory” information is considered integral to the foodways material under consideration (as in a quoted passage), has been fully vetted among editorial board members, and judiciously interpreted, described, and otherwise presented in the publication to clarify its inclusion and intent. Previously published material, in whole or in part, must meet ordinary fair use expectations concerning length and attribution. (d) If the Work contains any material that is owned or controlled by a third party (for instance, images used in the article), Author(s) warrant and represent that he/she/they have obtained permission for its use and that the material is clearly acknowledged within the text. Author shall indemnify and hold Publisher harmless against loss of expenses arising from breach of any such warranties.
5. Licensing and Reuse: While Digest adopts the above strategies with respect to best open access journal practices, it has not yet adopted Creative Commons licensing. It urges authors to promote use of the publication in Digest, in lieu of subsequent duplicate publication of unaltered papers, and to acknowledge the investments made by peer reviewers, editors, copy editors, programmers, layout editors, and others involved in supporting the work’s original publication in Digest.