For Tuesday, September 21, by Noon

We're going to do things a little differently from now on. Rather than post the Extract assignments to the site, I want you to email them to me as word files (I have the latest version, so don't worry about file format). Because assignments from now on will require more writing, and because I want to efficiently respond to each piece of writing, you will now turn your extracts in to me as word files. You will NOT post this file to the Extracts site. The site will still be used, but it's going to be repurposed (which I will explain when I get back).

Directions for the assignment:

For this assignment you will obtain four scholarly sources and write a summary and critique for each source. These sources may be either the introduction to a scholarly book or an article published in a scholarly journal. For credit, please complete the following tasks:

1. Look for relevant sources. Use bibliographies from print sources, the WSU library search engine, or other online source aggregation services (JSTOR, EBSCO, Project MUSE) to find four sources that appear interesting to you. Remember, you've already chosen some sources from the bibliography provided by Counihan and von Esterick. It's perfectly okay to use those. In terms of content, the only restriction is that they must be about food, which may include issues of consumption or production (eating or agriculture, for example), or may be focused on a range of issues surrounding a single food commodity. Begin hunting for sources as soon as possible.
2. Obtain these sources, either from the physical library or from the library's online collection of journals. Consider the source by scanning the table of contents and the introduction or first chapter (or, if an article, by looking over the first few paragraphs or pages). If you think the source is going to be pertinent to your interests, keep it. If not, return it and move to another. This is an incredibly important task. You don't want to waste time with a source that isn't a good fit for your interests. 
3. Once you've found your four sources, read them thoroughly and actively (as you've been doing thus far). As a guideline for reading, follow the suggestions outlined in Behrens (esp. the blue box on page seven).
4. Write a summary and critique of each source. The summary you are familiar with, but the critique is likely new. Focus on two questions: 1) will the source be useful to you; and 2) is the argument compelling. The first you will address by matching the interest of the piece with your prospective research interests. You may find that even though the piece is compelling, it may not be suitable or usable in your future work. The second question may be more difficult to answer. Use the strategy outlined in Behrens for assessing the validity of an argument (pages 60-69).

Here are the requirements, in short:

• Four summaries and critiques of four scholarly sources (either intros or journal articles)
• Each summary/critique should be 400 to 600 words long (for a minimum of 1600 words total)
• Use a subheading or transitional sentence to move from one summary/critique to the next
• Begin each summary with the author's thesis, and be sure to use "[the author] argues . . ." forumla
• Email me your completed assignment by Tuesday, September 21, no later than noon
• For examples of good summaries, please see the following: 1, 2, 3, 4. (For two good summaries and an incredible comparison, please see this post.) Remember, these are just examples: they are not perfect but they do certain things very well. Notice especially the opening sentences. Each writer does a good job of representing the thesis of the original article.

As a quick note: the other readings for the week have been pushed back. You will still do them, but they will be due later, and there will be no summaries associated with them. If you have any questions, please let me know right away.

Brianna Fischer-Anorexia Nervosa and its Differential Diagnosis

In the article "Anorexia Nervosa and its Differential Diagnosis" Bruch argues that the pursuit of thinness is the key issue in anorexia nervosa, which separates it from other psychological disorders than have weight loss as a secondary symptom.  Branch beings by explaining a historical trend of food withholding and looks at some religious and cultural reasons for it.  He states that he wants to "question whether there is a clinical entity that deserves and needs to be separated from other psychiatric conditions" and then what would be the characteristics and proper diagnosis.

In the first case Bruch describes, a 19-year-old female lost 30 pounds during her first year of college.  This seems to be because her mother had undergone major surgery, and her recover was doubtful.  During this time, the patient had be come obsessed with only eating what her mother did, and only when she could see portion sizes.  This caused for major weight loss when she moved away from home because she could not see how much her mother was eating.  There was no obsession with weight, the patient did not like being so thin; but she had developed a psychoneurosis in clinging to her mother and eating habits.

The second case was a 32-year-old professional woman who used her weight as a way to gain attention and "dominate through weakness".  This started at at young age when she felt her sickly sister was getting more attention.  This patient had learned all the ways to use her disorder as a means of attention, even using suicidal actions to gain attention when lack of eating wasn't getting the results she wanted.  Because there is no direct eating disorder, only weight loss as a means to another disorder, this woman is considered part of a group of pseudo-anorexia nervosa.

The third and fourth cases were both boys.  The first was a 14-year-old who had symptoms of imitation habit in which he hit himself when he had done something wrong.  This started after his Bar Mitzvah when he was responsible for all of his sins.  His eating disorder was not directly related to weight or body appearance, but not eating was a way of punishment for sinning and making his life harder.  The second was a boy who weighted 49 pounds at age 18.  He understood eating as a way of taking things that belonged to his parents, as he belonged to his parents.  He did not like that feeling of being owned, so he did whatever he could to avoid that feeling.  He wanted to own his own body.

Bruch concludes in the discussion of the symptoms that differentiate between anorexia nervosa and pseudo-anorexia nervosa.  He also discusses that the best way to treat and diagnose this is by talking to the patients and getting to the point of hearing them, and listening to their thoughts.  This discussion will often be the first time these patients have not been told how to feel.  This allows them to be able to recognize their own feelings, which makes progress towards recovery.

Hayley Pearce- Anorexia Nervosa and its Differential Diagnosis

In "Anorexia Nervosa and its Differential Diagnosis," Hilde Bruch characterizes anorexia nervosa according to three "outstanding" symptoms -- a disturbed body image, an unbalanced accuracy of stimuli occurring in the body, and a sense of ineffectiveness. Bruch believes that these symptoms are the “core of the problem.”

Bruch also describes his “subjects” socioeconomic backgrounds. He does this to portray the fact that anorexia nervosa can affect anyone—not just upper class, not just middle class, middle children and so on. Of his 43 patients, Bruch recognized that the cases “consisted of two distinct types,” those who were struggling for a sense of identity and those whose “primary concern was with the eating function…” Bruch believes that true anorexia nervosa is illustrated through a distorted body image of outrageous proportions.

Throughout the piece, Bruch mentions certain case studies that effectively prove his theories. A 19 year old girl that couldn’t eat without seeing what her mother was eating, a 32 year old woman who used to be jealous of her ailing sister, a 14 year old boy who would beat his head against a wall when he did something wrong – a trait he learned from his grandmother, and an 18 year old who didn’t want to eat because he felt that if he did, he would belong to his parents. Bruch ties these cases together by noting that encouragement of self expression was never present, “reliance on their own inner resources, ideas or autonomous decisions had remained undeveloped.”

The conclusion Bruch comes to for helping these individuals with their illness is relaying to them that they do have their own identity and feelings. He says that the therapy sessions were the “first…experience [they had] that someone listened to what they had to say and did not tell them how to feel.” In the end, Bruch believes that evoking a sense of self in his patients will eventually lead to a successful treatment of their illness.

Anorexia Nervosa

In the article "Anorexia Nervosa" and its Differential Diagnosis", Hilde Bruch argues that the pursuit of thinness is the key issue in anorexia nervosa syndrome and this separates it from various other psychiatric conditions associated with weight loss. Bruch supports this claim by using a study of 43 patients and observed them from 1942 to the middle of 1964. Bruch noticed that anorexia nervosa was an important issue to study because the number of cases continued to rise each year. What was interesting about this study is the range of diversity that these subjects had. The differences between the subjects included social economic standing, religious background and number of siblings.

However, Bruch states that abstaining from food is not always psychiatric and can be used as a political weapon to make a statement or could be related to religious traditions, such as fasting. Nevertheless, Bruch does find that preoccupations with ritualistic problems did play a role in some of her cases (106). Bruch also found that in the typical anorexia nervosa there were two different types: some struggled for control or a sense of identity and others used it as a symbolic tool. Bruch then goes on and shows four different cases from her study. The first was a 19 year old girl who would not eat unless she observed the amount of food that her mother ate. The second case was a prominent 32 year old women who had a recurrent theme of gaining attention and dominating through weakness. The third case involved a 14 year old boy who would not only starve himself but also beat his head if he thought he did something he was not suppose to do. Bruch later found that he would be himself because he observed how his grandmother would whip herself whenever any of her grandchildren misbehaved. Likewise his religion also played a role in his condition due to the notion of atonement. Since his Bar Mitzvah, the client felt that he was responsible for his sin and fasting was one method for atonement. From these clients, Bruch was also able to recognize three areas of disordered psychological functioning. These included disturbance in the body image and body concept, disturbance in the accuracy of perception or cognitive interpretation of stimuli arising within the body and a paralyzing sense of effectiveness (109-110). This "paralyzing sense of effectiveness" was apparent in the fourth case. This subject was upset that everything was given to him and that he could not produce anything.

Jennifer C: The Nourishing Art

In “The Nourishing Art” Michel de Certeau and Luce Giard argue that the role women undertake are barely appreciated but is very much important. One of the authors looks back to his childhood. His mother encourages him to help her in the kitchen, though he refuses with the idea of one day having a “real profession”. Upon moving out and discovering a tasteless world of unidentifiable cafeteria meals, he begins to appreciate both the joy and culture that come from cooking. Though he never deliberately sent time in the kitchen he recognizes the look, sound, and taste of food that have been unconsciously learned. What he has learned is a culture and a method that is thought to the authors, to be an instinct for all homemakers in their own particular schema of daily life. This instinct has made a task to the untrained seem like genesis, but is merely “ordinary intelligence” to women.

In the last section of the article the authors discuss malnutrition, how it is from not only under eating but is from a lack of vital nutrients, vitamins, and protean. Culture teaches a person what is eatable or not, even when the foodstuff is raw and freshly picked from the earth. It is a woman’s job to balance the foodstuff in her culture so no member of the family becomes sick. A woman’s job is never done and Certeau and Giard are aware that it is much more important than they once thought.

Anorexia Nervosa

Hilde Bruch describes in, "Anorexia Nervosa and its Differential Diagnosis," how anorexia nervosa has been characterized with confusion of its diagnostics. Bruch defines general anorexia nervosa, “the condition of self-inflicted starvation, without recognizable organic disease and in the midst of ample food” (104). In historical reviews Bliss and Branch(1960) concluded that anorexia nervosa was not a distinct clinical entity but only a symptom found at time s (104).

This report was based on the study in 1942-1964 of 43 individuals who had been diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. The rare disease appearing to be on the increase was ranging between adolescence and early adulthood. Also in the study Bruch describes that not all voluntary acts of abstinence from food is the cause of sickness. Many will use food abstinence as a means of strikes for independence, self identity and control or religious traditions. The question arises do these clinical entities need to be separated from other psychiatric conditions of anorexia nervosa?

Following the study three areas of disordered psychological functioning were recognized. First was the symptom that there is a disturbance in the body image and concept of delusional proportions. Different relations of what are normal and right and recognizing abnormal body images are important for diagnosis and treatment. The second outstanding characteristic is a disturbance in the accuracy of perception of stimuli arising within the body, failure to interpret signals indicating nutritional need. Another characteristic is denial of fatigue or over activity. This symptom usually occurs before absence of eating, is self initiated behavior and is overlooked as a diagnosis. The third outstanding feature is paralyzing send of ineffectiveness. Better referred to as negativism and stubborn defiance, patients appear to lack awareness of their own resources and reject demands.

Summary of Nourishing Arts by Stephanie Chu

In “the Nourishing Arts”, authors Michel de Certeau and Luce Giard argues the significance of French women in cooking, which is normally prospected as boring and repetitive. Certeau and Giard believe that culinary cooking requires intelligent and imagination. They argue people’s contradiction feelings toward culinary practices. For example, french cuisine is appraised but people judge this work to be “ repetitive and monotonous”. Therefore, the immense amount of work that women have to do: cooking, maintaining household goods and family bodies are not socially recognized.
Continuing with their argument, they state that female tasks are a cultural order. For instance, every women has her own style, variations and inventions in preparing food. Moreover, culinary production requires techniques and a multiple memory. Examples include a programming mind which one has to “ calculate both preparation and cooking time” and sensory perception which the “ smell lets one know if the cooking is coming along”. Thus, the vocation of cooking and “ manipulating ordinary things” needs a “ very ordinary intelligence”.
Certeau and Giard also contend the vulnerability of humans that ruin their own health by having deficient or excessive diets. They point out that the nourishment of food nutrients of people are resulted from cultured food-stuffs instead of pure dietary principles. They quote facts from epidemiology like the increased cardiovascular diseases are related to diets too rich in fats, and cancer in intestines are “ in correlation with impoverishment of diets rich in cellulose and vegetable fiber”. This shows that the nutrients intake of humans depend on their national traditions.
Lastly, Certeau and Giard relate how the organizer of the family (women) plans the family meal according to its country’s tradition. They disapprove the fact that nobody appreciates the hard work of women who use their imagination to integrate their knowledge of food in providing the best nourishment to their family. In conclusion, Certeau and Giard point out the culinary work that women perform require imagination, intelligence and should be appreciated.

Anorexia Nervosa and its Differential Diagnosis Summary

Hilde Bruch dissects the essence of anorexia in the article, “Anorexia Nervosa and Its Differential Diagnosis”. Bruch argues that the concept of the “pursuit of thinness” should separate anorexia from other psychiatric conditions concerning weight loss. The essential element is whether clinical evidence can support the need of separation from other psychiatric conditions. If so, what would be the diagnosis and treatment? Bruch contends that recognition and isolation of problems disturbing elemental living of individuals paired with assessment of coping methods is vital for diagnosis and treatment.

To support claims, Bruch conducts a study involving Forty-three male and female anorexia nervosa diagnosed patients from 1942 to 1960. The patients’ social classes, age, ethnicity, and religion varied. Two distinct types emerged due to the study. Thirty patients suffered from lack of control of identity losing a life threatening battle for thinness completed the first type. Within this group strange eating habits including binging and purging were noticed. The remaining thirteen patients formed the second type. This type’s weight loss revolved around unique issues discerning differently with each case. These patients suffered from various phobias, conversion hysteria, psychoneurosis, and schizophrenia when eating habits did not provide the desired attention.

Three areas of disordered psychological functioning were eminent in the first type. As a result, delusion regarding body image and proportion was the first symptom. Following delusions, was a disturbance in the accuracy of cognitive interpretation arising within the body. The most significant disturbance lied within the neglect of interpretation of hunger and nutritional needs. The final function was a sense of ineffectiveness. The patients lacked the ability to perform actions due to their own interests. These patients would only do what they were told to do.

Conclusively, Bruch established that using motivational interpretations was a useless treatment for the forty-three patients. On the other hand, using a “fact finding” approach worked substantially better. Finally, Bruch uses his study to find the issue within classifying anorexia nervosa. Psychiatric conditions involving weight loss should be separated from anorexia due to the difference of psychological emaciation.

Nourishing Arts summary

In "The Nourishing Arts" Certeau and Giard discuss the role of women in the kitchen. The article begins with one of the authors talking about how she refused to learn to cook. To her learning to cook would somehow keep her from pursuing a career in math or writing. She eventually discovers that she unintentionally learn a few things about cooking from watching her mom in passing.
From there the article goes into why women rule the domain of the kitchen. They discuss how when civilizations were settling down women took care of the "everyday work" that no one else would down and it has more or less remained that way (Certeau and Giard 71). The article goes into all the mental abilities required to cook efficiently and properly. The article explains how cooking takes skill and is not just something anyone can do with no effort.
The article closes with the topic of how much the structure of a person's diet affects their health. The authors discuss how the lack off and addition of certain food items greatly effect health in the negative. For as far back as history goes societies have more or less over looked the effects caused by improper diets. The article wraps it all up with saying how it’s the woman’s job to make sure her family eats right.

Haley Tellesbo "Anorexia Nervosa and its Differential Diagnosis"

In "Anorexia Nervosa and its Differential Diagnosis" Hilde Bruch argues that the pursuit of thinness,the main condition in anorexia nervosa syndrome, is a separate issue from other psychiatric conditions connected with losing weight. She reports that anorexia nervosa deals with two essentially different problems. Patients can either be obsessed with being thin or they are concerned with the eating function itself (and thinness is just a result). Through her own studies, Bruch explores the differences in psychological manifestations and their significance, as well as different types of eating disorders and their clinical course. By further distinguishing anorexia nerovosa, Bruch believes the condition and treatment will be better understood.



The basis of her report is seen in the 43 case studies (37 females and 6 males) done between 1942 and 1963. At the time anorexia nervosa had been thought to be a rare disease, but Bruch notes that there has been an increase in cases. After making observations two very different types of anorexia nervosa emerged. Refusal to eat was seen in 13 cases with no real understanding of the issue since weight loss was incidental. Yet in the other 30 cases there was a need for control, to find one's self and constant "pursuit of thinness." These 30 cases were seen as "true anorexia nervosa." All of the patients varied in age, personal and social background, and religion. Bruch also worked closely with the families of the patient in order to see if family interaction and concern played a role in the onset of the disease.

Out of the 30 patients recognized with anorexia nervosa there was a pattern of three different syndromes. The first is that the patient has a disturbed body image and do not see the way they really look. In order to treat, the patient must change the way they see their body and accept the truth or they will fall into relapse. The second symptom is an inability to sense hunger. They do not listen to the signals in their body indicating hunger. The third characteristic is a "sense of ineffectiveness." These patients lack the ability rely on their own thoughts and feelings which are undeveloped as a child. Bruch discovered that "insight giving" therapy has been detrimental to the improvement of the patient. Yet therapists that listened to the patient and did not give advice were more successful in helping the patient realize their own feelings and actions. This step is crucial for patients to recognizing that impulses originate within themselves.

Anorexia Nervosa - Tamara Bennett

In “Anorexia Nervosa and its Differential Diagnosis” Hilde Bruch argues that the pursuit of thinness is the main problem within the classical anorexia nervosa syndrome, which in turn is what takes anorexia nervosa away from association with the other psychiatric conditions of weight loss. She is also says in relation to this, how there is confusion with the diagnosis of the symptoms of the disorder. Some believe that the person is preoccupied with the eating function itself and “its distorted symbolic meaning” and the fact of being thin just happens because of it. In order to argue and prove her point, Bruch reports on a study she does to see if she is right in arguing that this is the main symptom and definition of anorexia nervosa.

The study consisted of forty-three patients; a large majority of them were female. Thirty-seven female and only six were males. The study was done between 1942 and 1964 and the four main patients were between the ages 14 to 32. In the end, the studies and finding were based on what was learned from re-reading and changing psychoanalytic therapy. They made not that “giving insight to patients through motivational interpretations of “unconscious” processes was not only useless but reinforced a basic defect in their personality structure”. When they changed to a more factual approach the study soared strong. And they were able to determine that what Bruch had determine was shown true when the patients were able to show that those thoughts had originated in themselves.

Amy Foss- Anorexia Nervosa and its Differential Diagnosis

In “Anorexia Nervosa and its Differential Diagnosis” Hilde Bruch discusses the patients she studied that were suffering from anorexia nervosa disorder. She had 43 patients in her study; it was a diverse group, varying in age, gender, race and socioeconomic status. At the time of her study anorexia was thought of as a rare disease and in most cases patients were treated the same and weren’t diagnosed with any mental illness.

Bruch contended that there are many different diagnoses for this disorder. Therefore each patient needed to be treated and evaluated individually. Throughout the article she explains some of her cases and the uniqueness of each case. Bruch found in her group of patients two distinct types of anorexia. For most of the patients, they had a struggle for control, looking for a sense of identity and effectiveness, and as a result an uncontrollable desire for thinness. They went through large eating binges, followed by vomiting. For the other small group of patients the reason for their weight loss was not intentional and came from another problem or situation. All of these patients varied in the severity of their illness and accessibility to treatment.

During her study Bruch found that most of her patients showed signs of disordered psychological functioning. She explains three symptoms that drew her to this realization; the first symptom being a disturbance in body image and body concept of delusional proportions, second being a disturbance in the accuracy of perception or cognitive interpretation of stimuli arising within the body, and the last symptom is a paralyzing sense of ineffectiveness, everything they do is to please others they never do things for their own happiness. Surprisingly patients explained that they came from normal family homes, and they were very obedient children. Consequently parents looked at their child’s eating problem as solely an eating problem, never considering that there were underlying factors to the problem.

Bruch found that there are many different factors that cause this disorder and that there are treatments that many didn’t consider before. She stressed the importance of looking at anorexia from all angles and treating each patient individually to make sure they get the treatment that they need.

Katie Goodin - Summery of Anorexia Nervosa and its Differential Diagnosis

In "Anorexia Nervosa and its Differential Diagnosis", Hilde Bruch argues that anorexia nervosa syndrome is quite different from other psychological diseases that also affect weight loss and should be classified as such. According to Bruch, approximately 100 years ago symptoms of this disease began being recognized. Bruch cites three different sites and research groups of importance: Bliss and Branch from the United States, Thomae from Germany, and Selvini from Italy. Taking into account their findings Bruch conducted and recorded his own research. Bruch observed 43 different patients over two years. The severity of their conditions greatly varied but most were under the age of twenty. Bruch also found that most were of middle and high economic classes, female,and a majority were Jewish. He give a detailed account about four specific cases that he encountered. Burch identifies three symptoms, "disturbance in the body image and body concept"(109), "disturbance in the accuracy of perception or cognitive interpretation of stimuli arising within the body"(110), and a "paralyzing sense of ineffectiveness"(111). After describing the disease, Bruch describes some of the precedents such as home life, parental habits and expectations. Bruch also states that traditional treatments have been ineffective but therapeutic lessons in awareness can be healing.

Anorexia Nervosa Summary

In "Anorexia Nervosa and its Differential Diagnosis, psychoanalyst Hilde Bruch argues that a "true" anorexic "actively pursues thinness" and perceives the condition as normal, while the second anorexic possesses a problem with the meaning the act of eating conveys.

She begins her piece by introducing Thomae and Selvini's previous work on anorexia. What they found was that anorexia was evident ii all psychiatric categories. While Thomae discovered that most patients are adolescent, Selvini exposed a major motive: a "concrete striving for independence".

Subsequently, Bruch observes 43 patients, most of which are female, but all of which come from various backgrounds. She pays specific attention to four cases. In her first case, Bruch finds that one girl did not eat unless she knew what her mother ate, signifying her complete dependence on her mother. The second case, on the other hand, depicts a woman who used anorexia as a means of gaining attention, to "dominate through weakness" (108). In the third case, a boy punished himself through starvation as a form of atonement, while the fourth case exhibits a boy who felt he possessed no ownership but that of his own body.

All in all, Bruch concludes these major points. She finds that the most prevalent symptom of anorexia is a deranged perception of the body. Anorexics believe their weight is normal and try to maintain it. Likewise, they lack the ability to listen to their body's stimuli, or don't desire food or even feel hungry. Next, Bruch finds that anorexics have very strong drives to do activities or study, demonstrating their overactivity or denial of fatigue. However, they lack sexual function or feeling. Anorexics lack the ability to confront emotions, often failing to recognize anxiety, emotional reactions, and even depression. Lastly, an anorexic's actions are usually only "in response" to what others want. According to Bruch, this "nature of rejecting ordinary demands of living is a desperate cover-up for an undifferentiated sense of helplessness", which also parallels the anorexic's fear of losing control.

Ultimately, Bruch finds that essential early learning for most patients is disrupted, leading them to develop a sense of helplessness because they feel their strivings are ineffective. What anorexic patients want is control of at least one thing in their lives and they can find that through eating. In conclusion, Bruch states the true anorexic "actively pursues thinness" and perceives the condition as normal, while the second anorexic possesses a problem with the meaning the act of eating conveys.

Alexa Dayton - Summary of "Anorexia Nervosa and its Differential Diagonsis"

Hilde Bruch argues in, "Anorexia Nervosa and its Differential Diagnosis," how anorexia nervosa has often uprooted confusion within its diagnosis. Bruch states that anorexia nervosa and its pursuit for thinness can easily be confused with other psychiatric conditions associated with weight loss and formally defines anorexia nervosa as, "self inflicted starvation without recognizable organic disease and in the midst of ample food." (Page 104) Bruch dissects the definition of anorexia nervosa into two essentially different problems. The first is when the patient is preoccupied with his or her body appearance and has a demanding need for thinness and avoiding appearance of fat. The second is a person that is preoccupied with the process of eating and its symbolic values.

This piece is focused around studies that have been conducted and centers in on particular cases of patients with this disorder. It is important to remember that these case studies started in the early 1940’s and run until the mid 1960’s. The participants in this study ranged in age, gender, social and economical backgrounds, treatment history, culture, and religion. At this time, anorexia nervosa was considered a rare yet increasingly popular issue. The primary goal of the study at Bruch’s standing was to see if her definition of anorexia nervosa should be diagnosed and treated differently from other psychiatric conditions pertaining with weight loss.

There were four spotlighted cases in this piece. The first case featured a 19-year-old college student who suffered dramatic weight loss in college. After her mother underwent a surgical procedure with doubtful recovery, this girl found she was unable to consume food unless directly witnessing that amount her mother consumed. The second case was about a 32-year-old intelligent professional women who began losing considerable weight at the age of 16. She felt that her sister was being favored by her family so as to obtain attention, she began to not eat. Through long evaluation of her case, it was revealed that the theme of her existence was to gain attention and dominate through her own weakness.

The third case was a 14-year-old boy with schizophrenia who would punish himself for his sins. This ‘punishment’ existed in founds of self-inflicted abuse and starvation. He was hospitalized and fed through a tub for three years. It seems as if there are direct connections from his starvation to his religion. In the Jewish culture, a ritual exists called the Day of Atonement that was a day of fasting. The last case that was highlighted in this article was an 18-year-old man who weighed 49 pounds and stood at 49 inches tall. He began to witness difficulties in his diet at age 12. He was considered the perfect child until teenage rebellion stuck. He felt indebted to his parents and as if he were their property because everything he was, in sense, was due from them. He began to be obsessed with his fitness and soon rejected food because it came from his parents.

In the end conclusion, Bruch observed that failure in treatment arose when a therapist simplu listened to what the patient had to say. The success came from treatment plans where patients were told how to feel. It is essential to evoke awareness that there are feelings and awareness that originate in them. The patients need to realize the appropriateness of their issue and consider it with the realistic possibilities of their future plans ans desires.

Nicole Weible "Anorexia Nervosa"

In “Anorexia Nervosa and its Differential Diagnosis” Hilde Bruch discusses the separation of anorexia nervosa from other psychiatric conditions associated with weight loss. Bruch defines this condition as “self-inflicted starvation, without recognizable organic disease and in the midst of ample food.” However, there are actually two different underlining problems that can both be characterized as anorexia, whether it’s a pursuit of being thin, or if thinness is only a by-product. Through his study of 37 females and six males diagnosed with anorexia nervosa between 1942 and 1964, Bruch aims to find whether anorexia nervosa should be separated from other psychiatric conditions and what would be its “characteristic symptomatology, proper classification, prognosis, and treatment.”

It is important to study each case separately in order to understand each patient’s needs and diagnosis. The group studied was a very wide range of people, with different religions, ages, communities, and net worths. Within the group there were two distinct types. Thirty patients had a struggle with control and sense of identity and thinness was a final step. They also developed strange food habits and often would binge or vomit, while the other thirteen patients had a concern with the eating function in various symbolic ways – the weight loss was secondary.

It is important for both the one diagnosing the problem and the patient to recognize their nutritional needs. The patient must be able to recognize the feelings and impulses they have in order to be able to understand where they come from and control them. Without judging it is possible to change their plans and hopes for their future health.

the nourishing arts

Michel de certeau and Luce Giard begin to argue the role of women in the kitchen and home. They begin by stating how women’s roles in the kitchen have been in the past. They chose to use the French as a specific example of women who still will chose the role of housewife over working out of the house. They give explanation as to why women might choose this role for cultural and ritual reasons.
The authors refer back to their particular childhood and how they did not want to be a part of cooking because they did not want to be forced into that role of a woman in the kitchen. It wasn’t until the author went off to college that she realized how great cooking could be. She talked about how it was a stress reliever from the outside world. The author even began to cook for groups of people. The author then goes on to tell the readers about her realization that she indeed did enjoy cooking and her worry that she would fall into step of other stay at home housewives. She lets us know how interesting the process of cooking can actually become.
The authors then switch into discussing healthy eating. They briefly point out the facts of needing a balanced diet and the needs of certain nutrients. The authors start to talk about medicines and the history of it and illnesses. They end by pointing out how food has multiple uses. It serves as a dietary need as it also serves as an enjoyable activity for some.

The Nourishing Arts

Michel de Certeau and Luce Giard argue the role of women and the kitchen. They state first that women have always been in charge of preparing meals and question if this is or isn’t a privileged role. They point out that depending on your culture, your gender roles vary and that old as well as new ways are used to cook depending on the circumstance. Cooking is very enjoyable to most women and it is a major aspect to almost all cultures.

The author did not want the typical role of a woman growing up, she wanted something more. She wanted to do something in the academic food and thought the thought of women’s roles in preparing a meal was stupid and not fit for her. However, she soon found that she really enjoyed preparing for a meal and cooking it. She still didn’t ask her mother or grandmother for help though, because she felt that was to stereotypical and she didn’t want to fit that model. Soon though she realized that she had the women’s instinct without even knowing it. As she created new dishes (and enjoyed it) she asked herself why she was enjoying this as much as her texts. She originally thought that her books and other interests were so much more important, but is now thinking otherwise.

She brings up a brilliant point on that it is almost a woman’s birthright to be the meal preparer. Someone has to do it, and it will most likely be a woman with never ending work. The roles of a woman vary from culture to culture, generation to generation, and class to class. A woman then, must find a way that works for her. She states that cooking is the main objective. It provides for the “family saga” and well as childhood memories. She believes that cooking is a science, you must be precise and accurate, but it is still rewarding. You get to spend time with people you love and who appreciate your food. A woman’s work though, is one that isn’t paid and one that is only appreciated for a limited time.

The author also talks about why we eat, to stay alive of course. It is a delicate balance, we must have enough nutrients, proteins, minerals, and vitamins or else we will become malnourished. Yet people still choose bad diets for themselves, whether it’s because it’s easy or to look better. Either way, it ruins their health. She points out that they are different food for different cultures, so it really just depends what culture you’re in.

Anerexia Nervosa

In "Anorexia Nervosa and its Differential Diagnosis" written by Hilde Bruch, explains the problems of Anorexia Nervosa and how people are perceiving this self-starving disorder as a cop out to become thin and happy. The phrase "the pursuit of happiness" is now known as "the pursuit of thinness" in the minds of some people with this disease which was recognized around 100 years ago. Happiness is what people want when they decide to undernutrition their bodies. Although age is a factor in developing Anorexia Nervosa, this rare disease is currently on the rise and a study involving 43 total men and women descibes the struggles they experience and the treatment they had since being diagnosed. The part in the article discussing Differential Diagnosis is about examples of Anorexia Nervosa by starving themselves for other reasons than just to become thin. These examples include "hunger strikes, starving yourself to get released from jail and finally resulting in women getting the vote." These examples prove that Anorexia Nervosa the self-starving disorder results from trying to get something that one may need and what one may want.

Brittany Balsiger: Summing Up "The Nourishing Arts"

In “The Nourishing Arts,” Michel de Certeau and Luce Giard argue that while cooking is done mostly by women and considered a menial task, it in fact requires a lot of thought and work. They start by stating that women are usually assigned the duties of housework because of their sex. They go on to say that the work women do around the house is not considered work at all. As men, the writers never put much thought into cooking and as such only realized what they had at home, when it was missing. They noticed that when they had to begin cooking for themselves, they remembered things they didn’t even know they had seen or heard in the first place. They discovered that the manipulating of ingredients into a final product was much more satisfying then one would assume. It was soon discovered that cooking is its’ own language that can be passed down from generation to generation and keep unappreciated women alive. Woman who have been suppressed long throughout history have carved a niche for themselves. The kitchen and home will forever be the domain of women. Women are almost always in charge of feeding a family, guests, or themselves. There is a transference of knowledge via cooking that hands down a degree of excellence that would otherwise be unattainable. Having the exact temperature for the oven, taking off the burning at precisely the right moment, knowing when to serve what, all these things require and intelligence that is not often perceived. While eating is a basic necessity and cannot be ignored humans can choose how they want to nourish themselves or even whether they will or not. The preparing of these meals that keep a family or a person from starving, require a great deal more thought than one at first realizes. The cook has to be sure and include what is required for bodies to continue to function at their fullest. The must be proteins and vitamins and sugars and carbohydrates and all those other pyramid of nutrition factors, so that the many food illnesses are kept at bay. While what is considered edible is up for debate depending on the culture, Michel de Certeau and Luce Giard make it quite clear that women need to be given more credit for what they do in their households and especially in the kitchen.

Summary of "Anorexia Nervosa and Its Differential Diagnosis"

In the article, "Anorexia Nervosa and Its Differential Diagnosis", Hilde Bruch argues against the fact that the pursuit of thinness, the key issue of anorexia nervosa syndrome, should separate it from other psychiatric conditions associated with weight loss (Brunch). The core concept in the discussion is whether there is a clinical existence that deserves and needs to be separated from other psychiatric conditions, and, if yes, what would be its characteristic symptomatology, proper diagnostic classification, prognosis, and treatment (Brunch). To achieve this Bruch says that one must recognize and isolate the crucial problems of the disturbed pattern of living in each individual case, and to assess the patient's tools for dealing with them.

Bruch conducts a study from 1942 to the middle of 1964 of 43 patients who had been diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. These 43 patients were a mix of both males and females. They came from different levels of social classes, ranged from the age of adolescence to early adulthood, and came from many types of ethnic and religious backgrounds. Within the 43 patients, two distinct types appeared. The first type consisted of 30 patients who's main issue was the struggle for control for a sense of identity and effectiveness, with their final effort being their relentless pursuit to be thin. Bizarre food habits were seen in this group and many partook in enormous eating binges and then vomiting. The second type was a smaller group of 13 patients. Their primary concern was with the actual eating function which they used in many different symbolic ways, and their weight loss was incidental to some other problem. These patients varied in levels of illness and accessibility to treatment. Within the group there were conflicts of conversion hysteria, psychoneurosis, manifest symptoms of schizophrenic reactions, phobias, and the need for the attention that not eating gave.

With the first type of patients three areas of disordered psychological functioning were seen. The first symptom was a disturbance in the body image and body concept of delusional proportions. The second was a disturbance in the accuracy of perception or cognitive interpretation of stimuli arising within the body. With the most substantial being the failure to interpret signals that the body was hungry and needed nutritional supplies. Also the denial of fatigue, and a marked deficiency in identifying emotional states. The third function is a paralyzed sense of ineffectiveness. They only acted in response to what others say and tell them to do, and not doing anything as if because they want to.

Bruch also took into consideration of what type of family background the patients came from and how their life at home came into play with their condition. Bruch states that "for normal development it appears to be essential that appropriate responses to the clues originating in the child and stimulation coming from the outside are well balanced".

Overall it was recognized that with the 43 patients using motivational interpretations of "unconscious" ways was useless. An interpretation to a more fact finding approach worked best with these individuals. In conclusion, referring back to the original argument, Bruch says "the literature on anorexia nervosa is classified by confusion about its proper delineation and diagnostic classification. This appears to be related to failure to discriminate between different types of psychologically determined emaciation, and to the shortcomings of our current psychiatric classification".

Anorexia Nervosa and its Diagnosis Summary- Brooke Davis

Hilde Bruch describes in, "Anorexia Nervosa and its Differential Diagnosis," how anorexia nervosa has had confusion with its diagnosis. Bruch states that the definition of anorexia nervosa is, "self inflicted starvation without recognizable organic disease and in the midst of ample food (104)." Where the confusion takes place for this condition, is the desire to be thin whereas the loss of weight is associated with other psychiatric conditions. The article is based off of research done from 1942-1964 with a total of 43 patients (37 females, 6 males). The goal of this study for Bruch, was to see if this condition should be separated from other psychiatric conditions, and what the treatments would be.
After the study was completed, there were three psychological syptoms that showed obvious signs of anorexia nervosa. The first was a disturbance in the body image and body concept of delusional proportions. What is said no be normal and morally right is ignored and absent to the patient. The second sign was failure to recognize signals within the body, for instance nutritional need. After losing so much weight, patients would fail to notice emotions and feelings along with other bodily states. The third and final observation was patients not doing anything because they want to, but only as a response to other people or situations.
Psychoanalysis that had previously been used on anorexia nervosa do not work as well as it did after it was modified. Giving motivation and noticing their unconscious showed better results for the patients. Giving advice as therapy was unsuccessful compared to listening and understanding patients with their problems.

Summary and comparison

The Abominable Pig
“Why did the lord of the ancient Israelites forbid his people to savor pork or even to touch a pig alive or dead?” This question along with, “Why is it the pig alone that suffers Allah’s disapproval?” were author Marvin Harris’s main questions that he tried to find the answers to throughout this article. He began with giving the readers the reason the Islamic will not eat pig. The Islamic found swine flesh to be filthy due to them eating their own feces. Harris gave Maimonides side of the story and then countered it with how pigs eat and live actually. Harris also gave the readers insight as to other animals that were forbidden to be eaten however pig was the major topic of this article. Harris showed the scientific justification that was done on the pig taboo but the scientist theory soon fell through. Harris let us in on his view on this subject which was that all animals are potentially hazardous and there are multiple diseases you can get from all of them.
“Whatever parts the hoof and is cloven footed and chews the cud among animals, you may eat.” this was taken from the Old Testament and was a particular point of discussion throughout the rest of the article as to what fell into these categories and what were the exceptions. Jahweh felt that animals needed to be cud chewers due to the cleanliness and simplicity that came with it. Pig’s dietary needs didn’t make it possible for them to be cud chewers without feces. Harris also pointed out that the Middle East was not a suitable habitat for the pig any ways and that pigs cannot do labor so they are not as helpful of an animal as others. Harris stated that he believed that Leviticus was mostly formed from preexisting food prejudices. He then went on to describe the taboos on eating camels along with certain types of birds. The Egyptians did not partake in eating pigs either due to their expense that went into raising them. Harris noted that Islam did not spread into areas that raised and ate a lot of pig. Overall Harris concluded that food aversion was mostly due to a balance between nutritional and ecological welfare of the people who chose to partake in it.

Deciphering a Meal
In this article Mary Douglas is trying to offer an explanation for dietary laws of Hebrews. She begins with classifications for the food groups; land, water, and air. She then explained how to classify foods worthy enough of eating in each food group. There were different levels of holiness the food could have such as it being a table food or an altar food. Douglas then gave us the meaning of abomination and the criteria for it, “those creatures which inhabit a given range, water, air or land, but do not show all the criteria for a or b in that range are abominable.” Douglas states that the creature not being fit for altar or table is simply mosaic code. She then began to classify humans and animals and the difference between the two. Douglas illustrates all her categories with figures to help you easily see the difference between the categories.
Douglas then gives the rules for an orthodox meal; the first rule being the rejection of particular species of animals such as types of birds. The second rule states that the meat that goes on the table must be drained of all blood because only god can have blood. The third rule is the separation of meat and milk. Douglas brings up the pig as a particularly important animal to not consume and to why this is still up held while so many of the other rules have been forgotten or ignored. Her main reasoning is that the pig pollutes for multiple reasons. Douglas ends us with a passage from a poem to sum up her reasoning of why pig is still abominable “the rules of the menu are not in themselves more or less trivial than the rules of verse to which a poet submits.”

Comparison
In the article written by Harrison he brings up the Islamic taboo against eating pig. Throughout the article he tries to shed light on the reasoning for not eating pig but eating other meats. He uses scientific facts and the Old Testaments views along with his own to come to the conclusion that nutritional and ecological factors have a lot to do with their reasoning for eating and not eating certain foods.
In the article written by Douglas she defines abominable as well as breaks the foods into three categories and those specific categories specifications as to what foods are acceptable at the table or altar. She goes on to give the three rules for an orthodox meal. Douglas brings up the fact that only pig is the main concern for people today and that most other unorthodox foods are being consumed.
These two articles cover similar topics. Harris talks about multiple reasons why they might believe in not eating pig over other types of animals while Douglas gives us reasons as to how they viewed and actually classified the animals as being appropriate enough to eat. Harris focused more on multiple perspectives as well as the environments influence while Douglas stated the categories and stuck with explaining their significance. Douglas’s article helps put Harris’s in perspective a bit more.

For Thursday, September 9 by Noon

For Thursday, you are responsible for a single post:

You will read both assigned readings, choose one, and write a summary of it. Keep in mind some of the things we talked about today (Sept. 7):

• Always begin your summary with the thesis formula
• Actively read the article you choose to summarize; only skim the article
• Skim doesn't mean don't read; instead, read the introduction, first sentences of each paragraph, and conclusion (make notes as you see fit)
• Be thorough but don't worry about being perfect: look at what other have done previously, whether in this class or elsewhere, and find a model
• Imitate the form of your model, but don't plagiarize (use the exact content)

Most importantly, remember that you have so far done an excellent job, you've put in the work, and it will pay off as the readings and the summaries get easier. If you get frustrated, put the piece down and come back to it later, reread your marginal notes, and then begin again. If you have any questions, please email me.

The Abominable Pig/The Culinary Triangle

The Abominable Pig
In “The Abominable Pig,” by Marvin Harris, Harris explains food bans based on economic and ecological utility by rejecting symbolic explanations. Harris points out why raising pigs for meat is a fruitful endeavor. Compared to cows and sheep, pigs turn more of their food into flesh, give birth to more young at one time, and are fully grown in shorter periods of time. He then states some arguments that are used to explain the abstinence of eating pork – they eat and wallow in filth, their meat carries disease. Harris’ theory is that pork is banned because of the impracticality of raising them. From Harris’ point of view, Jewish people in the United States continue to abstain from pork because of tradition and identity.

The Culinary Triangle
“The Culinary Triangle,” by Claude Lévi-Strauss, shows how food preparation can be analyzed as a triangular semantic field, much like language. Lévi-Strauss describes three types of cooking methods – boiling, roasting and smoking – to three types of foods – raw, cooked and rotten. He then describes whether these are natural or cultural ways of preparing food. Boiling is considered a cultural method for it requires a container to hold the water to boil. The second method of cooking Lévi-Strauss mentions is roasting. He states that roasting is a natural way of cooking because it is done by exposing the meat directly to the fire. The last method Lévi-Strauss brings up is smoking the meat. This is also a natural way of cooking. Smoking the meat is a sort of combination of boiling and roasting because it is a slower method of roasting which makes it somewhat similar to boiling.

Compare/Contrast
While Marvin Harris’ main point is explaining a particular culture’s avoidance of pork, Claude Lévi-Strauss’ demonstrates different methods of food preparation and what is considered natural and cultural techniques. However, they both describe how culture affects what we eat and how we eat it.

Haley Tellesbo- Summaries of "The Abominable Pig" and "Deciphering a Meal"

"The Abominable Pig"



In "The Abominable Pig" Marvin Harris argues that the aversion to pork is irrational considering that pigs can quickly and efficiently convert the plants they eat into flesh. So then why, Harris questions, do some religions forbid their followers to eat pork? Harris explores this question by examining what the Bible has to say about pigs, as well as the scientific evidence behind this reasoning. The book of Leviticus states that pigs are "unclean to you...everyone who touches them shall be unclean" (Lev. 11:24). Pigs were forbidden because ultimately their food and living habits were filthy and loathsome. Yet Harris makes sure to point out that there are no diseases linked to eating pork. Every domestic animal poses a potential health risk. So the Rabbi Maimonides's public health theory of pork (stating that pork meat was not good for you) and the theory of trichinosis (disease of undercooked pork) were not supportive scientific reasons for not eating pigs. Other meats gave disease and were fatal like anthrax transmitted by cattle, sheep and goats.

Instead the Bible gives a formula for animals that can be eaten. These consist of animals that are cud-chewing and have a parting of the hoofs. Pigs were seen to be anatomically "out of place" because they did not have these characteristics. Leviticus uses these "out of place" characteristics to make the pig seem bad to eat since these reasons have no real scientific evidence. Also, both of these characteristics must be used since some cud-chewers, like the camel, were banned. The rule concerning the parting of the hoofs had to be added so that some cud-chewers were not eaten.

Harris is able to show that not all systems are perfect however, or easy to explain since no one knows the authors of Leviticus or what they were thinking at the time. Harris is able to show the ecological and economical reasons why pigs were abominable. First off, pigs were expensive to feed and not very useful compared to other animals. They also constantly needed to keep cool since they have no sweat glands. They did this by rolling in mud, and if mud was not available they would use their own feces. Pigs were therefore impractical in the deserts of the middle east. Religions with pork aversions were thus based on the nutritional and ecological welfare of the followers at this time. The rules have managed to stay alive today even when scientific evidence can prove the pig to be an excellent source of meat.



"Deciphering a Meal"



In "Deciphering a Meal" Mary Douglas reflects on new research and methodology of the ancient Hebrews in order to show that their ethnographic evidence is not too meager when suggesting a rational pattern for the Mosaic rejection of certain animals. Douglas argues that there is plenty of information on the ancient Hebrews. It's just a matter of recognizing and relating what is known.

For the Jewish religion there are rules that have persisted over time explaining which foods are allowed to be eaten. These rules are related to social concerns of Hebrews and have stood the test of time as they are seen today as a way of life. Douglas explores the three rules of meat and the classifications that accompany each. First, certain animal kinds must be rejected (based on rules found in Bible). Second, edible meats must be drained of blood before cooking and third, the milk of the meat must also be separated. These rules are all based on the holiness of the food and in turn the holiness of the person consuming the animal. Boundaries were made so that one could maintain their holiness.

These boundaries can be seen in figures, which Douglas is able to use to explain these rules more clearly. In one such graph she classifies animals on the degree of their holiness. This is based on three types of animals depending on their habitat (land, air, or water) and whether they are abominable, fit for the table or just fit for the altar. In the three types of animal there are further rules for animal consumption. For example, land animals that have parted hoofs and "chew the cud" are fit for table. This system of classifying animals makes it easy to divide what is edible and not edible. Breaking the rules were seen as a sin and the consequence of such an act was not be able to enter the temple. The Israelites valued purity and if you ate unholy animals you were seen to be dirty like the animal you ate. One must be pure to enter the temple. These rules hold distinct meaning for Hebrews even today. Many of the rules in the religion are based on remaining pure and unmixed. The separation of blood and milk from meat shows this. Ultimately controlling what goes into the body is still important to the Hebrews in maintaining a pure lifestyle fit to enter the temple.



Comparison



Both "The Abominable Pig" and "Deciphering a Meal" ask questions concerning food habits and give information and the facts they know to conclude their decided answers. The information seen in both articles is consistent with explaining the rules of consumption seen in the Bible and still followed today by certain religions. Harris asked why religions chose not to eat pig meat and then found economical and ecological reasons to add to the what the Bible said. Douglas, however, explored the meaning behind the Israelites three rules of meat. Unlike Harris who used just used data and scientific reasoning, Douglas used figures to better clarify the rules of consumption. Both Harris and Douglas use the Bible as a source and even the same rules of "eating pure animals." They both show how these rules are followed out today and thus still important to certain religions.

Brittany Balsiger

"The Culinary Triagle"
In “The Culinary Triangle,” Claude Levi-Strauss argue that like language, there are many contradictions between the way food is cooked and nature and culture. Strauss starts off with language to bring us to the fact that like language, there is no society that does not cook in some form or another, some of its foods. He then breaks down the categories of food to “the raw, the cooked, and the rotted.” Strauss then claims that “raw” is in a category all its own with cooked and rotted on either side and claims the ‘cooked’ is a cultural process and ‘rotted’ is a natural one. In other words, cooked and rotted oppose one another. He then clarifies that a society must determine for itself what each of the three categories will mean. He goes back to language to state that like in language, there are certain facets in each of the three categories. Focusing on the cooking category, Strauss then subdivides it into boiling and roasting. Roasting as defined by Strauss is “directly exposed to the fire” and boiled is “doubly mediated, by the water in which it is immersed, and by the receptacle that holds both water and food.” He argues then that roasted requires no ‘utensils’ and boiled does so boiled is civilized and roasted is more related to nature. Roasted is associated with raw because it is not uniformly cooked and either burns, leaves white, or turns red and is therefore unpredictable like nature. Boiling however, cooks all the way through. Boiled is associated with rotted because it is an ‘even’ process and becomes more ‘tough.’ He then argues that another difference is that to be boiled is to be cooked in a receptacle and to be roasted is to be cooked from the outside. Societies then further complicate the difference between the two by one using boiled food for the family and roasted for guests and the other uses roasted for everyday and boiled for special occasions. Boiled and roasted can be further subdivided by masculinity and femininity. Strauss then argues that boiled and roasted can signify class and rank in some societies. Roasted can be further defined to simulate death and boiled as life, each culture having their own beliefs. To roast requires no skill but to boil is something that must be learned, further signifying culture. He then goes on to say that while the terms roasted and boiled have been integrated into the categories of raw, cooked, and rotted, one must also take into account to smoke. Smoking is similar to roasted in that is uses a flame, yet it is as far away from it as possible and smoking is like boiling in that it uses a utensil however, that utensil is destroyed not kept and cherished as in the case of boiling. All the categories within ‘cooked’ have contradictions within themselves. In the end, Strauss concludes that when all the factors are taken into account when it comes to food (the religious, economic, sociological, etc) then each society has developed its’ own ‘language’ that will be full of contradictions.


"Deciphering a Meal"
In “Deciphering a Meal” by Mary Douglas, she argues that the dietary laws of the Hebrews, which have been applied to their lives, should only be kept as dietary laws and not rules to follow in ones’ actual life. Douglas begins her argument by clarifying the Hebrew dietary laws. She starts by questioning why the laws have remained the same for centuries. The three laws the Hebrew have about meat are then listed. Douglas then clarifies what animals fall into which category. There are four classifications which are abominable; fit for the table not the alter; fit for the alter, can’t eat; can eat, not fit for the alter. Then she explains that how the categories are broken down by animals of the land, air, and water. She then clarifies what animals in each group are considered edible and what ones are considered abominations and not edible. After clarifying what can and cannot be eaten, Douglas then points out what the definition of abomination would be which is, any animal not fitting in the required rules. She then claims that the rules which define the diet are applied to human life. Like the firstborn work animals so is the firstborn c\child ‘sacred.’ Like with the out casting of animals which have spilt blood, so to the out casting of humans which have spilt blood. Purity of the table is then related to purity of a person. Perfect physical form is then what is to be expected and accepted. She then states that the dietary rules are similar to why the Israelites believe they have claim to the land. She states that is the dietary rules were kept strictly dietary there would be no problems, but the problem is that the dietary rules have been applied to life. She shows how the rules that govern the people have stemmed from the dietary rules. In conclusion, Douglas states that “the ordered system which is a meal represents all the ordered systems associated with it.”


Comparison
Both articles start off by what they are arguing (as do most all). They then take the complicated idea they are arguing and break it down piece by piece so that the reader may understand. Both go into great detail about their topics so as to hopefully not leave the reader behind. They then tie it all back together to show how food and cooking styles and dietary systems, apply to society.

Amy Foss- The Abominable Pig and The Culinary Triangle

“The Abominable Pig”

In “The Abominable Pig”, Marvin Harris questions why the Israelites have forbade pigs from their diet. Pigs were deemed “unclean” because of their unclean habits. However it is not because they are an unclean animal that they have these habits, rather it is because they are not able to sweat. In order to avoid a heat stroke, pigs will cover themselves in mud or anything to cool their body temperature. They will even resort to laying in their own urine and feces if need be. However Harris points out that they are not the only animal with unclean habits so it is a complete contradiction that they are the only ones that are abominated.

Religious texts state that one may only eat an animal that chews the cud and is of split hoof. This excludes the pig from diets. Pigs are only good for meat. They eat what humans eat and cannot eat grass or straw, which ruminants could digest grass and straw which make them a better alternative. Pigs also cannot be used for clothing or to pull a plow, which make them far less efficient than ruminates. Harris argues that all of these reasons made pigs unfit compared to the ruminants.

The environment of these places was also not suitable for pigs. Pigs do best in a cool forested area, while the areas that these practices started were dry and hot. Deforestation took place to make grass lands for the ruminants to graze in, which made it hard for people to raise pigs because of the conditions. In the end Harris concludes that there is no better explanation for the pig aversion than cost/benefit advantages and ecological and economical conditions. Harris argues that the pig aversion should no longer be blamed on “cleanliness”.

“The Culinary Triangle”

Claude Levi-Strauss discusses in “The Culinary Triangle” the cultural impact of cooking by the culinary triangle. In this triangle the three points are the raw food, the cooked food and the rotten food. Strauss also states that the three cooking modes in the triangle are; boiling, cooked and rotten. These are all based on either nature or culture. In this article he compares the three cooking models.

In some cultures boiling food is a sign of culture because it uses utensils and receptacles, whereas roasting is a sign of nature. Strauss said that boiled represents ‘endo-cuisine’ rotten and concave, family and woman. When roasted represents ‘exo-cuisine’ raw and convex, guest and man. Some cultures favor roasting over boiling, boiling conserves the meat while roasting ruins the meat. While smoked takes up a side on the triangle it is not really viewed as its own category but a subcategory for roasted foods. However it serves on the triangle as a base for the other subcategories.

Strauss argues that cooking is like its own language, it is interpreted by different social groups in different ways. Just because boiling food is viewed by one society in a certain way doesn’t mean it is being viewed by another society in the same way. Actually it will most likely be viewed in a completely different light. It is also discussed that how society prepares their food is a direct translation to how they are socially structured.

Comparison

I found some similarities in both pieces “The Abominable Pig” and “The Culinary Triangle”. Both authors emphasize the importance of culture and how it directly effects how we eat. How a society is socially structured directly affects a societies dietary patterns or how they prepare food, which was discussed in both articles. Certain rules such as Religious texts that state that one may only eat an animal that chews the cud and is of split hoof, or beliefs such as cooking is like its own language demonstrate that each society has its own values that will directly reflect their societies structure.

Comparison Assignment

"The Abominable Pig"

In “The Abominable Pig” Marvin Harris stimulates conflicting conversations between the ecological and economic reasons verses the religious and cultural reasons for pork being forbidden. Harris first compares pork verses other types of meat, including how he explains that pork can gain weight faster than any other animal; which is one of the main reasons why pork is such a beneficial meat for humans to consume.

Harris takes a significant amount of time to explain, and back up why religion plays such a strong role in why pork is not allowed. He uses different verses from different religions to back up what they say about the subject. And compares and contrasts the benefits of ruminants in comparison to pigs; which are not a ruminant. Pigs also can’t be used for a variety of tasks other being slaughtered for meat, unlike that of animals that can be used for the wool as well as pulling plows. In an ecological scenario, Harris explains how people would get a greater premium for raising ruminants and a greater penalty for raising swine as another example of this swine to ruminant comparison.

Not only does he explain the importance of ruminants, but also goes into talking about the camel and its importance and also how it became justified and into the criteria of meat not good to eat. In the end, Harris reinforces the taboo of pork related to the religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, and Islam and overall explains how these religions came to view pork the way they do now.

"The Culinary Triangle"

In “The Culinary Triangle” Claude Levi-Strauss argues that the basis of the culinary triangle consists of the raw, the cooked, and the rotted foods. He starts off by comparing the “vowel triangle” to the “consonant triangle” to better help us understand the importance of our culinary triangle.

Just like language cooking is a “truly universal form of human activity,” and that the culinary triangle is universal. Foods are all raw, cooked, or rotted. But he also describes categories within this triangle that are roasting, boiling and smoking; which each have different significance within different cultures. Levi-Strauss states that “nothing is simply cooked, but mush be cooked in one fashion or another,” which shows how the aspect of universal is applies to the three different forms of cooking. He explains clearly how all of these levels correlate through a diagram of the layers of the culinary triangle.

He explains the different significances that each of the parts of the triangle have. Roasting in aligned with nature and boiled aligned with culture. This is partially why boiled food (meat) is more culturally diverse and has more significance. Smoking the food aligns both with culture and nature. Ultimately, Levi-Strauss concludes that in each specific case, “the cooking of a society is a language in which it unconsciously translates its structure,” essentially meaning that food can be used to help other people gain knowledge into a different culture.

Comparison

In “The Abominable Pig” Marvin Harris uses culture and religion along with ecological and economic reasons why pork has been so forbidden. And in “The Culinary Triangle” Claude Levi-Strauss instead illustrates a universal basis for all foods; the raw, the cooked and the rotted. Both “The Abominable Pig” and “The Culinary Triangle” describe how culture has a part in our decisions and permanent actions with our food.

summaries

Deciphering a Meal:
In "deciphering a meal" Mary Douglas is readdressing the topic of Hebrew dietary laws by recognizing and relating what she already knows about the ancient Hebrews. She begins by looking at how New Guinea and Thailand apply their social laws to not just their community, but also to their food. The article describes how if an animal commits an act that is unacceptable for a human to commit then it is not fit to be served on the dinner table.
From there the articles examines the Hebrews and the social laws that they apply to their own animals. For Hebrews everything is about holiness. They do not do or eat anything that is considered unholy and would defile them. All animals have certain psychical traits the they must match in order to be deemed fit for the table or the alter.
The article goes on to examine the different ways in which the social customs of the Hebrews are applied to their animals. Any act that would deem a person unholy applies to the animals. one such example being birds that eat other birds and consume their blood are unholy and unfit for the table. The whole point of the restrictions are that inorder to enter the temple of god a person must be holy and by affiliating with food or performing acts deemed unholy then that person has defiled themselves and is no longer fit to enter the temple.

The Culinary Triangle
In "The culinary triangle" Claude Levi-Strauss applies the "'vowel and consonant triangles'" to food inorder to create a system of edible food that expans across cultural boundaries. The article startes out with the categories of raw, cooked, and rotted as the posts for the triangle. Since rawness has little variance accross cultures, the article looks in to how to classify dishes as cooked and raw.
The article goes into two sub-categories, roasted and boiled. Roasted is considered to side with nature while boiled goes along with culture. The reasoning behind it is that inorder to boil something a person must first craft some kind of container to hold both the meat and water. While for roastin all that is needed is a handy stick and a fire.
From there the article goes into other sub-categories such as smoked and fried. By doing this a second deminsion is added to the culinary triangle. This allows a more all incompassing view of the different ways in which dishes are pepared. Based on the preperation of a dish it is placed closer to either cooked or rotted.

Comparison
The two articles are very similar in that they break down their topics all the way to the basic units of its structure and work their way back up. Both articles started off with diagrams that conveyed basic messages. From their the slowly add pieces one or two at a time. By the time the article reaches the end the diagram constructed is simple and extensive enough for the reader to be able to apply it back to society. A reader is able to see how different social standards and restraints shape the way a group of people not only eat but prepare their food.

Alexa Dayton: Deciphering a Meal and The Abonimable Pig

Summary of “The Abominable Pig”:

In “The Abominable Pig”, American anthropologist Marvin Harris searches for the underlying answer of why some religions forbid any physical contact with pork. Harris begins his argument by providing valid reasoning as to why this species should not be destined as a taboo. Pigs produce more meat than most other animals because they possess the greatest potential for changing plants into flesh. Pigs, additionally, gain one pound to every pound of food consumed, topping them off as the most efficient compared to other species. Harris continues on by looking at multiple theories and explanations that bare possible answers in the mystery of why the pig is considered an abominable species for several religions.

To begin, Harris defies the common answer to this issue. He argues that this animal is not shunned due to fear of filth or illness but rather issues that revolve around economical, environmental, and political motivations. This brings Harris to Maimonide's public health theory. This theory researches the correlation between trichinosis and undercooked pork. The problem, however, with this specific theory is that almost all meat-producing species can be associated with some form of disease. Harris then jumps to the formula for distinguishing good-to-eat flesh from forbidden flesh by using specifics from the Old Testament. This formula lacks information of animals that are forbidden. Rather, it solely focuses on the features of species are edible. In conclusion of this particular theory, the pig only satisfies the section of this formula that states species with a divided hoof must chew a cud. This rule was created because species who do chew their cud are known as herbivores that survive on high cellulose diets (cellulose is found in grass, hay, and straw). Therefore, species such as cattle, sheep, and goats all qualify as meats that are good to eat.

This public health theory leads us to a new crucial topic that Harris expands on. Pigs are not able to adjust to their living environment with much efficiency. Specifically, pigs are unable to efficiently adapt to the climate and ecology of the Middle East. As Harris explains, a pig’s body internal temperature system is competent for hot, dry climates. They do not sweat have sweat gland and are forced to use the dreaded technique of lounging in mud as a way to cool themselves. Often time, when there is a lack of mud, pigs will use their own feces and urine as an alternative. This strategy often aides in the fight that pigs are an abominable species. However, Harris begins to challenge the theory of animals with a divided hoof that do not chew their cud as being unclean and impure. Harris brings the camel into play. The camel, like the pig, does not chew a cud but does have a split hoof. Why, then, is the camel not qualified as an abdominal specie?

In conclusion, Harris states that evidence does not support the theory that the pig is abdominal due to possible illnesses and the fact that they are ‘unclean’. Evidence points to other reasons that are based on the economy. All in all, the recurrence of loathing the pig in several Middle Eastern cultures strongly supports the analysis that the Israelites ban on the pig was a reaction to recurrent practical conditions, cost advantages, ecological and economical conditions, and other such benefits.

Summary of “Deciphering a Meal”:

Anthropologist Mary Douglas, in “Deciphering a Meal”, offers an animal nomenclature for the explanation of the Hebrew dietary laws while analyzing and corresponding the information we already know about the ancient Hebrews. In this piece, she argues that animal taxonomy is directly correlated with the social structures of that preside over the people who follow it. When it comes to animal taxonomy, “each society projects on to the animal kingdom categories and values which corresponds to their categories of marriageable persons”. The rules are used to categorize animals based on the patterns of rules governing human relations. Douglas creates precise tables that represent Hebrew classifications of edible and inedible food. She then connects these to the different levels of holiness and integrity discernible in religion and society.

To begin her argument, Douglas connects sex with food. In marriage, the intermixing of people was not accepted. For example, marrying outside of one’s community was a symbol of ‘dirt and promiscuity’. By participating in this sin, one is demoting themselves to the level of a dog. The dog is a symbol of an animal that is unfit to join a dinner table. This corresponds with the specie of the abominable pig. It is taboo to consume pork for similar reasons. Pigs consume carrion, do not chew a cud, and often wallows in feces, thus being classified as unclean and impure. The system of demoting a person who engages in wrongful marriage is similar to the ideas of the abominable pig.

This idea is proved again in the classification for religious temples. Children who are first born are the only ones that are allowed to serve the temple. They are given certain authority due to this reason. Likewise, the first born of flocks and herds are fit for the altar. For those just conceived, the afterbirth is prohibited because it represents youth and the unity between mother and offspring. Descent now classifies the degree of holiness and purity that a person of animal is. Another example proving this theory is the fact that animals must regard the restrictions of Sabbath if they are going to be classified as working animals. Douglas continues to develop other testimonies that prove the classification of humans directly corresponds with the classification of animals.

Overall, Mary Douglas offers a structural analysis of food taxonomy by examining the evidence that connects classification rules of humans to the classification rules of animals. She reiterates the notion that the social values that rule human connections translate into daily life, including what we eat. In conclusion, the essence of Douglas’ argument is, “the ordered system which is a meal represents all the ordered systems associated with it."

Compare:

Ideas of animal taxonomy and particular dietary behaviors have always been prone to contrasting opinions. In “The Abominable Pig” and “Deciphering a Meal”, authors and anthropologists Marvin Harris and Mary Douglas both attempt to argue their opinions concerning the distaste of specific species. Both of these pieces are based on people and cultures of the Middle East and the relationships of religion and food. The authors develop on the idea of what makes species unfit for consumption but go about this task in contrasting ways. Although the authors are producing two different points, they both bring specific cultural and religious examples to prove their argument.

Summary of Deciphering A Meal and The Abominable Pig

Summary of Deciphering A Meal:

In Deciphering A Meal, Mary Douglas argues how Hebrew dietary laws can be explained by using animal taxonomy. Mary presents her case by using diagrams that classify animals in their degree of holiness and by laying the rules which govern the common meal in Jewish tradition. These rules are (1) rejection of certain kinds as unfit for the table, (2) of those admitted as edible, the separation of the meat from blood before cooking and (3) the total separation of milk from meat. Also, within the diagrams, she separates and classifies the animals as beings spheres of land, air, and water. The simplest of these is the denizens of the water and the complex diagram is those concerning denizens of the land. Another interesting item that Mary finds is that the rules of holiness that apply to animals also apply to people. Mary begins to discuss that among the Israelites, only those who are not unclean can enter the temple of God and these represented the first born of Israel.

In her conclusion, Mary shows how this animal taxonomy influences the social life of the citizens of Israel, such as mariage. The Israelites considered the pig unclean because it did not chew the cud and it carried the odium of multiple pollution. Thus foreigners that ate swine were considered unclean and were likely to lead to the worship of false idols and political defections.

The Abominable Pig:

In the Abominable Pig, Marvin Harris explores the aversion of pork within Muslim and Jewish societies and shows us that there may have been economical and cultural reasons as to why pigs were viewed negatively in Middle Eastern society. Marvin begins to show us that the stereotype of the dirty pig is due in part to its living environment. Marvin explains that pigs do roll in their own filth and eat their own urine excrement but as a last resort. If pigs were given adequate cooling and were well fed, these stereotypical behavior disappeared. Also, Marvin explains that pigs have been looked down upon in the Middle East because they were not profitable and were very hard to raise. While pigs can convert 35 percent of its feed into meat, it is difficult to do this in the Middle East. Likewise, Marvin also shows that pigs will eat just about anything (including their own species) and if a famine were to occur, humans would have to fight for these scarce food sources from pigs. Finally, Marvin shows that other animals that may have been considered "unclean" could have been classified as such mainly due to the convenience of not eating these creatures or that hunting these creatures could have been a waste of time. On animal that is forbidden to be eaten in Judaism but accepted in Islam is the eating of camels. Marvin showed that eating camels would not have benefited the Jews because they were valuable creatures and eating them would do more harm than good. However, Muhammad approved of the eating of camels because it was important for nomadic tribes to eat camels in order sustain them in their long travels.

Comparison:

Both of these articles dealt with animal taxonomy and its influence on the social life of these people. Swine was considered to be unclean in both Judaism and Islam mainly due to the degrading behavior. However, Marvin showed that swine could have been viewed negatively because they were not an economically sound commodity and could easily ruin the lives of many people if swine husbandry began to occur throughout the region. Likewise, animal taxonomy was used to describe the consequences of marrying outsiders and foreigners and thus becoming unclean themselves.

Douglas vs Levi-Strauss

Deciphering a Meal

Mary Douglas discusses the explantations of Hebrew dietary laws in the article "Deciphering a Meal." She talks about the differences of Thailand, New Guinea and Karam studies on the relationships and the "strong analongy between bed and board lies unmistakably beneath the system of classigying animals" and furthermore going into detail about the similarities between eating and sex. Douglas feels this is a important discussion within her article and goes further into detail through the meaning that she asks the question "why should the Israelites have had a similar concern to associate sex with food?" This then leads her to question other religions concerning their meal choices. As you read futher into Douglas' article, you notice that throughout the article she has interesting diagrams. She discribes the first diagram as the "Degrees of holiness", "Denizens of the water", "Denizens of the air" and "Denizens of the land." These diagrams portrayed different things such as certain types of animals would fit into certain places within the diagram.

In addition, Douglas has a few rules such as "meat of the table must be drained of its blood." What Douglas means is that "no man eats with flesh on it, blood belongs to God alone, for life is in the blood." She says this within the article because it is an importance that meat has to contain no blood at all according to her rules with meat. Another rule that Douglas has is that "the seperation of meat and milk, it honors the procreative functions." These rules obviously brought an importance to Douglas during this article such as tieing back to following these important rules throughout the religions from earlier discussed.

The Culinary Triangle

Claude Levi-Strauss compares cooking to relating vowels and consonants in a triangle. Levi-Strauss believes that cooking is deeply a language universal as human activity and "if there is no society without a language, nor is there any which does not cook in some manner at least some of its food." This means that if there was no language within a society means the same as if one does not cook, then there is no food. This is a trianlge within itself and goes hand in hand with one another. The triangle that Levi-Strauss is discussing involves the categories of raw, cooked, and rotted foods. Furthermore, Levi-Strauss goes into detail about which foods are in which categories such as Italian cuisine is considered "rawer" than traditional French cooking which considers it a category of raw.

As Levi-Strauss discusses further into the article, he discusses terms that are related to the three categories of the Culinary Triangle. "Raw, cooked, and rotted are inscribed two terms which are situated: one, the roasted, in the vicinity of the raw; the other, the boiled, near the rotted," the dilema being that there is no term that goes hand in hand with showing a category of cooked. Levi-Strauss thinks that the category would be roasting or boiling, but those terms may not be the best suited.

Comparisons

The two articles are more different them similar because I would say that "Deciphering a Meal" is more grusome and religion bases than Claude Levi-Strauss' "The Culinary Triangle". I say this because during "Deciphering a Meal" it talked more about blood and the different religions that went along with each type of food and "The Culinary Triangle" discussed more about foods that are related and tied together through the three categories of raw, cooked, and rotted.