Current Institutional Affiliation
Associate Professor, History & Art History, George Mason University
Award Information
International Dissertation Research Fellowship 2002
Institutional Affiliation (at time of award):
History, University of Michigan
Corrupting Cooks: Domestic Service and Expertise in Eighteenth-Century France
Eighteenth-century French cooks played a unique role in the formation of taste as the defining element of consumer culture. Through the valorization of novelty, these cooks sought to transform the domestic relationship between master and servant, as well as the social relationship of skilled cooks to other professions. Analysis of the discourse and practices of cooks through a study of literary and archival materials will reveal the nature of the evolution of taste as a culturally constructed category.
