| 1. |
- Jönsson, Håkan, et al.
(author)
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Swedengate : When commensality norms collide
- 2023
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In: Eating Together in the Twenty-first Century : Social Challenges, Community Values, Individual Wellbeing - Social Challenges, Community Values, Individual Wellbeing. - 9781003373896 - 9781032447698 ; , s. 45-56
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This chapter is a case study of #Swedengate, a social media controversy evoked by the supposedly Swedish custom not to invite children's playmates to partake in the family dinner. The practice seems to be in direct confrontation with norms of commensality and reciprocity, and the chapter deals with the cultural context and implications of the practice. The empirical material is an open-ended questionnaire from the Folklife archives at Lund University with 400 responses. The respondents, with first-hand knowledge from their childhood, show a multitude of attitudes to the custom, ranging from anger and despair to a sense of relief at not having to eat strange food with other people. The rationale behind the practice was to guard the family dinner as a time to build the family and structure everyday life. The roots of the custom are traced to peasant society, with its restrictions on spontaneous dinner invitations and the social contract of the welfare state, where independence was an overarching principle. The chapter concludes that commensality is difficult to organize, and the intentions and outcomes of commensal practices can be very different. Meals are emotional, and tools for silent communication, where the silence and tacit knowledge of practices, may lead to unintended cultural clashes. Finally, norms of commensality are in constant transition but rooted in previous generations’ habits and values.
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| 2. |
- Neuman, Nicklas, 1987-, et al.
(author)
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Beyond conviviality : Facets of Eating Together
- 2024. - 1
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In: Eating Together in the Twenty-first Century. - Abingdon : Routledge. - 9781032447698 ; , s. 180-190
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The stability of the human tendency to eat in groups is remarkable. We find it to be valued and mostly desirable across geographical locations, cultures, and historical time periods. Yet, there is a great deal of variety in how the practice is expressed, how individuals experience it, and how the sharing of meals is understood culturally. This chapter focuses on three facets of eating together that deserve more attention in the literature: the biology of eating together; the differentiation and cohesion of eating together; and the performativity of eating together. It ends with a postulation about carefulness with normative claims about meals in company or in solitude.
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| 3. |
- Neuman, Nicklas, et al.
(author)
-
Beyond Conviviality: Facets of eating together
- 2023
-
In: Eating Together in the Twenty-first Century : Social Challenges, Community Values, Individual Wellbeing - Social Challenges, Community Values, Individual Wellbeing. - 9781003373896 - 9781032447698 ; , s. 180-190
-
Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The stability of the human tendency to eat in groups is remarkable. We find it to be valued and mostly desirable across geographical locations, cultures, and historical time periods. Yet, there is a great deal of variety in how the practice is expressed, how individuals experience it, and how the sharing of meals is understood culturally. This chapter focuses on three facets of eating together that deserve more attention in the literature: the biology of eating together; the differentiation and cohesion of eating together; and the performativity of eating together. It ends with a postulation about carefulness with normative claims about meals in company or in solitude.
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