In search of lost time

Tradition and identity in culinary narratives about old Hanoi

Bibliographic Data

ID12799830
AuthorsTu Thien Tran (0000-0002-6753-458X, University of Alberta, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume26
Issue5
Pages1233-1249
Publication date2022-11-09
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueFood Culture & Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1552-8014 • E-ISSN: 1751-7443
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/15528014.2022.2138318
OpenAlexW4308656907
LanguageEN
References cited19

This paper studies an emergent sociocultural phenomenon involving the construction of Hanoi’s old town as a signifier of taste, tradition and identity. Starting with the insights gotten from ethnographic observation and analysis, it then draws on local literary works to provide an account of narratives having been put together around the old Hanoi’s superior cuisine, prestigious tradition, and noble identity. In light of the Bourdieusian thesis of taste and social distinction supported by further theoretical developments from the perspective of post-modern culinary consumption, it wraps up by discussing the impacts of these narratives on the commodification of food and foodways in the old town and the construction of contemporary Hanoian identity. The results show that this phenomenon embodies a yearning for sociohistorical belonging, an appeal for identity status enhancement, and an elevation of cultural nationalism in post-reform Hanoi

Aesthetics · Art · Commodification · Consumption (sociology · Epistemology · Ethnography · Foodways · Identity (music · Literature · Narrative · Nationalism · Phenomenon · Political science · Politics · Sociocultural evolution · Sociology · Taste · Anthropology · Culinary Culture and Tourism · Gender Studies · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies

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