This paper argues that everyday food practices reproduce and negotiate power relations of coloniality. The argument developed brings together Quijano's notion of coloniality and Bourdieu's writings on distinction, habitus, and taste. Ethnographic data from fieldwork in the 'gastronomic capital of Bolivia,' Cochabamba city, brings out the workings of a 'habitus of coloniality' in everyday food practices. The author analyzes how the city's privileged middle class navigates ethnic and racial inequalities, which have deep colonial roots but are constantly being renewed and renegotiated. The members of an emerging middle class, many with indigenous roots, have been negotiating their participation in spaces of food consumption. This process is often met with disdain by the established middle class, thus reinforcing power relations of coloniality. The author puts forward the notion of a 'coloniality of taste,' which reflects the power relations at play in the expression of social distinctions through food tastes. The paper concludes that food practices in Cochabamba and elsewhere center around social inequalities modelled upon colonial patterns. KEYWORDS Mestizo valluno; white mestizo; gente bien; middleclass; habitus of coloniality; coloniality of taste Setting the scene It is a late afternoon in August 2016. Together with my friend Rosita, her youngest children and her mother, I visit the temple of the Virgen de Urkupiña, a holy virgin venerated by many Bolivians. We have arrived at the church after a one-hour ride in a packed minibus from the center of the city of Cochabamba to the satellite city Quillacollo. The temple stands a few blocks of dusty roads away from the main square. In one week, these roads will be filled with people dancing for several kilometers until they reach the sacred ground of the temple. To avoid the crowds, we have arrived early. We light candles for the virgin and pray. Then, we go to a nearby restaurant to eat a hearty Pique Macho, a dish of meat and fried potatoes arranged on top of each other. Rosita's children play in the backyard of the restaurant. We leave the restaurant and walk towards the main square where the buses depart. It is sugar cane season, and amongst the many street vendors, a woman squats besides a wheelbarrow filled with sticks of sugar cane. The children know how delicious it is to suck the sweet liquid out of the heart of the sugar cane. 'Can we have one,
Over the last fifty years, the production and consumption of chicken meat have soared in Bolivia. This article analyzes the political, economic, and cultural developments that have led to the popularity of chicken meat in this country. It also asks who has benefited from this success story. The author relies on data from one year of multisited ethnographic fieldwork in Bolivia to provide an account of the history of industrial chicken meat production in the country. This article particularly focuses on the role that national elites and their political entanglements have played in the development of the poultry sector. Marketing campaigns playing on desires to join Western modernity have fostered a taste for industrial chicken meat. Constant overproduction has kept market prices low, so that chicken has become available for the masses. The supply of cheap chicken meat also has been on the political agenda. This article concludes that the expansion of industrially produced chicken meat has mostly favored the upper and middle classes, leaving the poorer population with products that are cheap but of doubtful quality. Under the guise of a “sovereign” supply of cheap meat, an immense business opportunity has been created.
Academia has entered a new teaching, learning, and researching era: an era in which more and more services turn to digital and online forms, distances are eliminated, geographical borders disappear, and telepresence becomes common. Though accelerated by the pandemic of the last two years, this transition has been in progress for some time. The importance of creatively nurturing students, academic, and scientific staff in the realms of education, practical knowledge, skills, and competence growth has only increased. Investing in best practices in this digital world, both in teaching and in research, supports a connection between the academic world and society at large, raises societal, environmental awareness, and promotes innovation and excellence at all levels. Each of these considerations plays an important role for the EURECA-PRO European University Alliance, a group of eight partner universities from different European countries working together to establish a modern, diverse European institution. This article focuses on how EURECA-PRO partners collaborate to create a digital campus that supports education, research, and innovation. These efforts rely on the Work Package 4 (WP4) and are led by the Technical University of Crete (TUC).
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