Our Story is Told Through Our Plates: Southern Foodways and the Global South

Eighteenth-century French politician Brillat-Savarin famously said, “tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.” In reality, it’s never just about food. What we do or do not eat, how we grow and produce our food, and the people we share it with, all combine to form our cross-cultural and ever-changing foodways. Food is not only important for sustenance, but also exists at the foundations of our histories, cultures, politics, geographies, and memories. These complex intersections ensure that no single cuisine exists as a monolith. Here in the south, and across the global south, too, these diverse cultural combinations serve as the landscape upon which the South’s assorted foodways was and continues to be built. In this free, public program, UNC food scholar KC Hysmith will examine the rich global past, present, and future of southern foodways, reminding us of the importance of building a longer table.