Researching Southern food culture when you're from California is AWKWARD

[SellaW]

I'm doing undergraduate research on Southern food traditions. Specifically, how family recipes change across generations. I'm from California. My family recipes involve avocados and fish tacos. This is hilarious to everyone here.

When I interview people, they look at me like "what does this California girl know about our food?" And they're right. I know nothing. But that's actually helpful.

Because I ask different questions. Things locals wouldn't think to ask. "Why do you call it that?" "Where did that tradition come from?" "Wait, you put sugar in cornbread?" (Apparently yes. This is still weird to me.)

My professor says I have "fresh eyes." That being an outsider is an advantage. I see things insiders don't notice because they're too familiar.

I've learned so much. About history, about family, about identity. About how food carries memory. About how recipes are love written down.

Next week I'm presenting at a small conference. On Southern food. With my California accent. I'm nervous. But also excited.

Research is weird. Research about something you don't understand is weirder. But maybe that's the point.

 

[BertaSimpson]

The way you're framing "not knowing" as an advantage is actually really smart. Anthropologists do this all the time – they go into cultures they don't understand specifically because they notice things locals miss. You're basically doing ethnography on Southern food and that's legit. Own the California accent. Own the questions. It's working.