Appetites and Identities: An Introduction to the Social Anthropology of Western Europe

267 Pages·1994·0.96 MB·English

by  Sara Delamont

Appetites and identities
Appetites and Identities is a clear, inviting and fascinating
introduction to the social anthropology of western Europe. It
covers food, migration, politics, urban and country life, magic,
religion, sex and language in an accessible and straightforward
fashion, introducing the student to aspects of the anthropology of
contemporary European culture from mussel farmers in the
Netherlands to Basque chambermaids in Lourdes, and from
unhappy bachelors in western Ireland to unwitchers in Portugal.
Its scope takes in Turkey, Greece and Cyprus in the east, to the
fringes of Wales, Scotland and Ireland in the west.
Avoiding the technical language of many anthropological
textbooks, Appetites and Identities sets out the anthropological
literature on the rich diversity of dialects, cultures and everyday
lives of western European people, offering fascinating insights into
how each region and community differs from its counterparts,
despite the notion of an integrated Europe. The book will stimulate
curiosity about social anthropological investigation, and about life
in Europe today.
Students of European Studies, European Languages, EEC Studies
and Sociology, as well as students beginning anthropology courses
and their lecturers, will find this book useful.
Sara Delamont is the Reader in Sociology at the University of
Wales, Cardiff. Her previous books include Knowledgeable Women and
Fieldwork in Educational Settings.

Appetites and identities
An introduction to the social
anthropology of western Europe
Sara Delamont
London and New York
First published 1995
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE

This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2002.

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001

© 1995 Sara Delamont

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British
Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Delamont, Sara, 1947–
Appetites and identities: an introduction to the social
anthropology of western Europe/Sara Delamont.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Ethnology—Europe. 2. Europe—Social life and customs.
I. Title.
D1056.D45 1994
306.4’094–dc20 94–9581
CIP

ISBN 0-203-41351-2 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN 0-203-72175-6 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0-415-06253-5 (hbk)
ISBN 0-415-06254-3 (pbk)
Contents
List of illustrations vii
Preface and caveat ix
Acknowledgements xi
1 Travellers on a hill: introduction to the social
anthropology of western Europe 1
2 The golden oranges: food, appetites and identity 19
3 The vines that trail: farming and fishing in western
Europe 42
4 The trampled garden: invasion, refugees, migrants and
tourists 63
5 The smokeless homes: peripheral regions in western
Europe 84
6 Towns with towers: the city as symbol and the
neighbourhood as home 106
7 And with great lies: politics, patronage and leadership 126
8 Turned in prayer: religion, magic, science and the
supernatural 147
9 The gossips of the town: sex and gender in
contemporary Europe 172
10 All Babel tongues: language and identity in Europe 193
11 Ringed with a lake of fire: conclusions 209
vi Appetites and identities
Glossary of anthropological terms 210
Directory of research sites 212
References 225
Name index 245
Subject index 249
Illustrations
FIGURES
2.1 Location and motive 31
2.2 Location, motive and food types 35
9.1 Sex segregation and sex equality 177
TABLES
2.1 Magazine and cookery book suggestions for a wedding
lunch 33
2.2 Commercial menus 34
2.3 Two ideal types of wedding lunch 35

Preface
This is a book about the diverse cultures which exist in western
Europe, drawn from the research done by social anthropologists,
written for non-anthropologists, indeed for the non-social scientist. It
is designed for students studying European languages and cultures,
doing degrees in European studies, plus those taking courses in the
sociology, politics or anthropology of Europe. The perspective is
anthropological, but the book is written for people who have no prior
knowledge of social anthropology.
All the chapters have titles taken from the poems of J.Elroy Flecker
(1947), who died, aged only 31, in 1915. He wrote lovingly of both
the northern and the Mediterranean regions of Europe.
A CAVEAT FOR ANTHROPOLOGISTS
This book over-simplifies anthropology and presents a rather static
and old-fashioned picture of the discipline. I read social
anthropology, and have recently been doing research on social
anthropologists, so I know that the way the discipline is presented
here will be resented by scholars in that tradition. I have done this
deliberately, cold-bloodedly, and ruthlessly. For fifteen years I have
been teaching anthropological materials to modern language
students who have no social science training, and have discovered
that they find the books and journals of social anthropology
mystifying. They are perplexed by material I set them to read,
repulsed by the technical vocabulary and the theoretical
assumptions, puzzled by the data collection methods and convinced
that their personal experiences in Spain or Italy are more ‘up to
date’. This book is for them.