Tasting French Terroir: The History of an Idea - California Studies in Food and Culture

Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.; This book explores the origins and significance of the French concept of terroir, demonstrating that the way the French eat their food and drink their wine today derives from a cultural mythology that evolved between the Renaissance and the Revolution. Through close readings and an examination of little-known texts from diverse disciplines, Thomas Parker traces terroir's evolution, providing a privileged insight into how gastronomic mores were linked to aesthetics in language, gardens, and painting and how the French used the power of place to define the natural world, explain comportment, and frame France as a nation--Provided by publisher. Biographical Note: Thomas Parker is Assistant Professor of French and Francophone Studies at Vassar College. He is the author of "Volition"," Rhetoric, and Emotion in the Work of Pascal."Table of Contents: List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction: Terroir and the Culinary Roots of French Identity 1. Rabelais's Table and the Poets of the Pleiade 2. The Plantification of People 3. Courtside Purity and the Academie Francaise's Attack on the Earth 4. France's Green Evolution: Terroir's Expulsion from Versailles 5. Saint-Evremond and the Invention of Geographical Connoisseurship 6. Terroir and Nation Building: Boulainvilliers, Du Bos, and the Case of Class 7. The Normalization of Terroir: Paris and the Provinces Conclusion: Terroir and Nation: From Geographic Identity to Psychogeography Notes Bibliography IndexJacket Description/Flap: "With impressive erudition and an original marshaling of texts, "Tasting French Terroir" traces French national identity in the ever-intriguing, ever-evolving bond between cuisine and country."--Priscilla Parkhurst Ferguson, Professor of Sociology, Columbia University, and author of "Word of Mouth: What We Talk About When We Talk About Food" ""Tasting French Terrior" makes an important contribution to myriad fields, including culinary history, French literature and philosophy, and political science. Demonstrating ingenuity with its sources and chronological scope, this book will be a wonderful resource for a wide range of scholars."--Jennifer J. Davis, author of "Defining Culinary Authority: The Transformation of Cooking in France, 1650-1830 "Publisher Marketing: This book explores the origins and significance of the French concept of terroir, demonstrating that the way the French eat their food and drink their wine today derives from a cultural mythology that developed between the Renaissance and the Revolution. Through close readings and an examination of little-known texts from diverse disciplines, Thomas Parker traces terroir's evolution, providing insight into how gastronomic mores were linked to aesthetics in language, horticulture, and painting and how the French used the power of place to define the natural world, explain comportment, and frame France as a nation.

Contributor Bio:  Parker, Thomas Thomas Parker is Assistant Professor of French and Francophone Studies at Vassar College. He is the author of "Volition"", Rhetoric, and Emotion in the Work of Pascal".