Mark Swislocki
On his book Culinary Nostalgia: Regional Food Culture and the Urban Experience in Shanghai
Cover Interview of April 02, 2010
history /
19th century /
20th century /
urbanism /
food /
china /
famine /
shanghai /
great leap forward /
chinese communist party /
Editor’s note
Originally, this interview ran on the Rorotoko cover page under the headline
“Food as an objection to modernity.”
We highlighted two quotes.
On the first page:
“I propose that nostalgia not be framed in negative terms, as is most commonly done, for example, as a pathology, or a form of delusion or obfuscation. Instead, the book asks that nostalgia be considered a category for critical reflection upon a changing world.”
On the second:
“One of the dangers of studying ‘food’ is that food as such becomes the subject matter, while social relationships become incidental.”