Cultural Links
Culinary Messaging - Can I Bring Something? : Complexity and Ambiguity in Diverse Food Gifting Practices
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Constance Kirker
Encompassing both personal preferences and myriads of cultural prohibitions and prescriptions, food choices can be used to create a sense of community and belonging, or exclusion and separation. Cultural practices involving sharing and gifting of foods can also be a way of including and even educating a trusted outsider. With significance more than that of a casual exchange, a food gift can convey the history of a culture or group. Participating in and observing culinary customs are ways of signaling respect for traditions both of one’s own culinary heritage and that of others. Embedded with multiple meanings, food gifting can also fulfill an obligation or establish a relationship hierarchy. The rules of food gifting can be complicated. What is appropriate? What might offend? This paper considers two long-established gifting practices: the exchange of mooncakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival in Chinese culture and its diaspora and the tradition of omiyage, souvenir or local food, in Japanese tradition.
Cultural Expression as a Pathway to Belonging: Exploring Identity and Success in Black College Students
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Kareem Watts
Although many colleges globally celebrate diversity in their student body and offer inclusive programming, students of color still experience lower retention and graduation rates compared to their peers. To better support Black students of African descent, faculty and administrators must reconsider how they engage these populations. This session explores how cultural expression, specifically hip hop pedagogy (HHP), fosters a sense of belonging and academic success for historically underrepresented students in higher education. Dr. Kareem Watts presents findings from his arts-based research, which examines how Black and African American professors use HHP to engage their students and improve learning outcomes. Through a blend of Narrative Inquiry, Arts-Based Research, and A/r/tography, the study reveals key themes in how faculty incorporate culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) into their teaching practices. The session highlights how these innovative methods deepen the connection between Black students of African descent and their academic environments, supporting their retention and success. Attendees will experience live "Flo-etic" data poems, inspired by the stories of the professor-participants that he refers to as "research collaborators," and listen to excerpts from Dr. Watts' dissertation album, Flo-etic Storytelling Mixtape Ch. 5. His dissertation album blends research findings with rhymes and beats, offering an artistic interpretation of the data. This creative approach demonstrates the transformative power of hip hop culture in higher education, illustrating how it can drive positive change and support student success.
