Alison Leitch

Slow food and the politics of pork fat: Italian food and European identity

This paper explores the emergence of the Slow Food Movement, an international consumer movement dedicated to the protection of ‘endangered foods.’ The history of one of these ‘endangered foods’, lardo di Colonnata, provides the ethnographic window through which I examine Slow Foods cultural politics. The paper seeks to understand the politics of ‘slowness’ within current debates over European identity, critiques of neo-liberal models of rationality, and the significant ideological shift towards market-driven politics in advanced capitalist societies.

Book Review: SLOW LIVING Wendy Parkins and Geoffrey Craig Sydney: UNSW Press, 2006, 192 pp.

cept of hyper-reality, for example, is that it paints a picture of a consumer who is lost in a quagmire of sign-systems and does not recognize any notion of a social actor for whom the act of consumption is meaningful, both in terms of the formation of identity and of social relationships. In the third and final section of the book, on the politics of consumption, Sassatelli explores the notion that cultural consumption is a sphere in which power relationships are played out in a variety of ways. Again the concept of ambivalence is emphasized, and consumption is said to provide ‘occasions for self-realization and emancipation as well as for frustration and subjugation’ (p. 113). Several major themes and topics are discussed, including advertising, de-commoditization, and the tension between global commodities and local consumption practices. The section ends with a compelling analysis of the rise of social movements that promote alternative and anti-consumption practices. One of Sassatelli’s preoccupations is to reconsider Ritzer’s notion of McDonaldization, and in particular to question its validity. For Sassatelli, while processes of globalization and standardization of commodities are important to understand, the notion of resistance through local forms of consumption and appropriation of global commodities by individuals is also a very real and significant phenomenon. Overall this is a work of impressive scope and depth, covering a substantial amount of ground. The multi-disciplinary nature of the book provides new and revealing insights, and Sassatelli conveys brilliantly the heterogeneity and ambivalent nature of consumer identities, consumer practices and consumer cultures. Furthermore, the author succeeds in discussing these complex issues in a clear and easily assessable way. This text would certainly be suitable for students at the undergraduate or graduate level, and indeed anyone else interested in this area. Newcomers to consumer culture will find this an invaluable primer and introduction to the major concepts and ideas, while those familiar with the field will find Sassatelli’s sharp analysis and discussion both refreshing and inspiring.

34.95 (paperback)

Paul Alexander died suddenly of a heart attack on the 5 December 2004 in New Zealand. At the time he was at home in Napier, the place he and Jenny Alexander retired to in 2001. For all the people who loved him dearly*/his family, students, many colleagues and friends*/Paul’s untimely death was a shock. Many of us have lost an extraordinarily inspiring teacher and generous friend whose maverick spirit and intellectual curiosity was matched only by his equally immense love of life. Paul was born on 1 September 1942 in Auckland, New Zealand. His formative years were marred by the death of his younger brother from complications following an appendix operation, an event which no doubt influenced his later general distrust of doctors and hospitals. He was educated at high schools in Wellington and Invercargill where he played a prominent role in both cricket and Rugby Union though he later switched to Rugby League when he attended university. Paul did his undergraduate studies at the University of Otago in Dunedin, briefly experimenting with law before taking up philosophy and anthropology. Stimulated by the inspiring teaching of prehistorians Les Groube and Peter Gathercole, Paul was enamoured of prehistory but decided he lacked the meticulous nature required of a prehistorian. Paul graduated with First Class Honours in Anthropology in 1969. In his final undergraduate years Paul met and married Jenny, who would be his lifelong companion and co-researcher. Their daughter Lanei, who accompanied them to Sri Lanka and afterwards to Java, initially as the ‘anthropologists’ daughter’ and subsequently as an exchange student, was also born in New Zealand. Under the guidance of John Harré, one of his social anthropology teachers, Paul carried out research in the Alliance Freezing Works near Invercargill and subsequently undertook a study of Dutch settlers in Dunedin for his MA. John Harré also did his utmost to

Celebrating the Life of a Big-hearted Man: Paul Alexander (1942–2004)

This article is inspired by theoretical developments within the social sciences that focus on the materiality of everyday objects and processes. Based on ethnographic research in the city of Carrara, in central Italy, the article discusses the experiences of both quarry workers and sculptors who work with marble. Through an exploration of one of the ‘qualisigns’ of marble — veining — the article draws attention to the material life of marble in the artistic imagination of sculptors and why materiality might matter in social analysis.