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As part of the Lycoming College Spring Symposium, “The Politics of Consumption: Race, Class, and Ethics,” Lycoming College will host Joseph Ewoodzie, Jr., Ph.D., associate professor of sociology and Vann Professor of Racial Justice at Davidson College, for a talk about the role that food plays in cultural and racial diversity. The event is planned for Wednesday, March 20, 4:30 p.m., in the Trogner Presentation Room, Krapf Gateway Center, and is free and open to the public.
The Lycoming College Spring Symposium calls attention to the ways in which food intersects with difficult discussions surrounding race, class, and ethics. The Ewoodzie lecture, as well as other symposium events planned for the spring semester, will help to reinforce Lycoming College’s commitment to fostering a culture of inclusive excellence by creating safe spaces for hosting complex dialogues surrounding the ways in which food unites and divides us as humans.
Other Spring Symposium events include a cooking demonstration by several Lycoming College faculty, and a screening of the movie, “Gather,” which will be followed by a panel discussion and refreshments from Tomahawks, an indigenous American restaurant in Mifflinburg, Pa.
"This symposium calls attention to the ways food intersects with discussions around race, class, indigeneity, and ethical responsibility, which contribute to Lycoming College’s commitment to fostering a culture of inclusive excellence on our campus."
“The making and sharing of food represent aspects of life through which identities are created and maintained. This symposium calls attention to the ways food intersects with discussions around race, class, indigeneity, and ethical responsibility, which contribute to Lycoming College’s commitment to fostering a culture of inclusive excellence on our campus. These events will provide engaging opportunities for Lycoming students, faculty, staff, and broader community members to engage in these important conversations, brought together over our shared and unique experiences with food,” said Spring Symposium co-coordinators Hannah Espy, assistant professor of sociology, and Mallory Melton, visiting assistant professor of anthropology and archaeology.
In his research, Ewoodzie studies belonging by using qualitative methods to examine how marginalized populations in urban locales make sense of inequalities in their everyday lives. During his lecture at Lycoming, Ewoodzie will discuss his award-winning book, “Getting Something to Eat in Jackson: Race, Class, and Food in The American South,” where he provides a vivid portrait of African American life in today’s urban South that uses food to explore the complex interactions of race and class. Copies of the book will be available for sale at the event.
Ewoodzie’s first book, “Break Beats in the Bronx: Revisiting Hip Hop’s Early Years,” combines historical methods with sociological theorizing about symbolic boundaries to provide an account of the making of hip hop. With the help of previously unused archival material, the book sheds light on a crucial period (1975-1979) consistently ignored in the historical literature. Ewoodzie earned a bachelor’s degree from Ithaca College, and a master’s and doctoral degree from University of Wisconsin Madison.