Advincula, Larson 2021. With(in): Three women, three informal settlements, and the rituals of the meal as a microcosm of urban life.

Abstract

Shared transnational challenges are connecting people in unprecedented ways. Crises such as the 2020 pandemic proved that the world is a single organism and no issue is only a local issue. If social and technological trends continue toward increased globalization, people of different cultures must find new ways to better understand the needs and values of communities that we are unlikely to experience first-hand.

To build this understanding, this work conducts a natural experiment to increase cross-cultural awareness through a medium all can relate to: food and its attendant social rituals. The goal is to create a novel way to understand and communicate urban specificities by using the table rituals as a microcosm of community. The research looks for a connection between the act of procuring food, preparing food and eating together and the structures of the communities people live in.

This thesis is a two-part inquiry comprising: (1) A comparative study conducted with field research at rapidly urbanizing areas of Port Harcourt, Cairo and Guadalajara, and (2) an immersive video installation and multimedia book for communicating this content.

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