An Ethnographic Account of a Social Event

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Ethnography Of a Social Event Tamzin Watson 540707 Tutorial Group P. (Tuesday 11:15 – 12:00) Tutor- Andrea. 13 April 2012 “ Eating together lies at the heart of social relations” (Delaney 2011: 248) The following essay will give a detailed ethnographic account of an Easter Sunday lunch that took place with a group of friends in a restaurant in Parys. The aim of this essay is to understand and show that food is influential on social behaviour, “food categories also correlate with social categories” (Delaney 2011: 259). In order to fully understand the impact of food on behaviour one needs to discuss how it is shaped by time, space, and language in the context of the situation. I as the participant chose an Easter Sunday lunch to analyse because of the background behind Easter and the rarity of the occasion. Included in this essay is an informal interview with an informant from the event to give in depth understanding and clarification of the event. The basis of this essay is dealing with and understanding culture and food, and how the two are interlinked. Delaney noted, there is not one thing in culture that stands by itself, all the aspects are "interconnected" and the full depth of the culture can never fully be understood. (Delaney 2011:21) However, culture can be defined as “learned behaviour” that is constantly evolving due to various influences, "culture is learned and not biological, it is shared and not psychological, and it is particular and not a matter of philosophy."(Delaney 2011:19) The reason for why people behave in a certain manner can be explained by cultural influences (time, space, media, language, upbringing, technology) these influences are interlinked and constantly change and thus change behaviour. We can thus say that food is an influence on behaviour and in turn shapes culture. The food that a person eats, how they eat it,

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