Landscape, practice and tradition in a Sicilian market

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.This research explores the dynamic relationship between place, history and landscape in an urban food market, Catania, Sicily. This market informs a mythological image of the island and my main concern is what significance lies underneath this representation. I examine the ways in which this image has been constructed through ideas of history, space, landscape, modernity and tradition. Unpacking these notions in the light of my in-depth ethnography, I address how vendors and buyers frame and define their relationship with space and time. After placing the market in relation to its historical and geo-political context, I argue that the representation of passivity and the lack of agency have contributed to the maintaining of elitist local and national powers. The use of space within the market informs a distinctive cosmology, in which the landscape constitutes the main local organising principle. The landscape is looked at as a cultural process, constantly renegotiated and recontextualised. The principal categories of food classification ‘wild’, ‘local’,and ‘foreign’ are explanatory notions of a specific relationship between people, food and locality. The interaction between vendors and buyers cannot be understood as a purely economic transaction. Their relationship is articulated through a unique set of practices, which are analysed throughout this thesis. Senses, social interactions, culinary knowledge, and conviviality contribute to the ability to operate within the market. I look at my own ethnographic experience as a practical “apprenticeship”. I also address the local ideas of tradition and modernity, mainly through the analysis of the shared fears of being left behind and of losing control over the process of change. The idea of modernisation as an ongoing process carries with it a sense of loss, of nostalgia for an idealised past.Isambard Scholarship Fund from Brunel University and the Royal Anthropological Institute

The Significance of Landscape in a Sicilian Food Market

Based on an in-depth ethnographic study within a food and fish market in Catania, Sicily, this paper aims to investigate how place and identity are represented through performances and displays within the market. The market derives its identity from a complex relationship to place. I aim to depict the meanings attached to landscape (paesaggio) by a specific community, i.e. the local market traders and buyers. I regard the concept of landscape as a useful framework through which to explore the relationship between people and the environment. Looking at how the market embodies the landscape, I examine two main aspects: the market's display and its system of food classification and the perception of the landscape through the narratives of market vendors and buyers. The principal categories of food classification ‘wild’, ‘local’, and ‘foreign’ are explanatory notions of a specific relationship between people, food and locality. The stalls' layout and the goods’ classification, therefore, provoke a discussion about landscape, wilderness and domestication. To address the apparent contradictions in this complex system of meanings, the use of space within the market informs a distinctive cosmology, in which the landscape constitutes the main local organising principle. I focus on how the landscape is constantly renegotiated and recontextualised

The Significance of Landscape in a Sicilian Food Market

Basé sur un travail ethnographique approfondi sur le marché local de Catagne en Sicile, cet article a pour but de s'interroger sur la représentation locale du rapport au lieu. En observant comment le marché reflète le paysage local, je veux souligner deux points: la perception de l'espace qui ressort du dialogue entre vendeurs et clients d’une part, les manières dont sont présentés et classifiés les produits alimentaires de l’autre. En mettant en avant les contradictions apparentes dans ce système complexe de significations, j’utilise la métaphore du contrepoint qui permet d’établir des catégories capables de comprendre les représentations associées au paysage. L'utilisation de l'espace dans le marché donne à voir une cosmologie distincte, dans laquelle le paysage constitue le principal moyen d'organisation locale. Le paysage est appréhendé comme un processus culturel, constamment re-négocié et re-contextualisé. Les principales catégories de classification de nourritures ("naturelles", "locales" et "étrangères") renseignent sur la relation entre les habitants, l’alimentation et l’espace. L'agencement des étalages ainsi que la classification des produits engagent une discussion sur le paysage et sa dimension “naturelle” ou “domestiquée”.Based on an in-depth ethnographic study within a food and fish market in Catania, Sicily, this paper aims to investigate how place and identity are represented through performances and displays within the market. The market derives its identity from a complex relationship to place. I aim to depict the meanings attached to landscape (paesaggio) by a specific community, i.e. the local market traders and buyers. I regard the concept of landscape as a useful framework through which to explore the relationship between people and the environment. Looking at how the market embodies the landscape, I examine two main aspects: the market's display and its system of food classification and the perception of the landscape through the narratives of market vendors and buyers. The principal categories of food classification ‘wild’, ‘local’, and ‘foreign’ are explanatory notions of a specific relationship between people, food and locality. The stalls' layout and the goods’ classification, therefore, provoke a discussion about landscape, wilderness and domestication. To address the apparent contradictions in this complex system of meanings, the use of space within the market informs a distinctive cosmology, in which the landscape constitutes the main local organising principle. I focus on how the landscape is constantly renegotiated and recontextualised

The social practices of hosting P2P social dining events. Insights for sustainable tourism

In many ways, the expansion of commercial for-profit, P2P social dining platforms has mirrored those within mobility and accommodation sectors. However its dynamics and impacts have received less consideration to date, with a notable paucity of attention to the hosts of social dining events. The aim of this paper is to address this research lacuna. Through its exploration of the social dining platforms VizEat in Athens and Eatwith in Barcelona, this paper identifies, analyses and compares the social practices of hosts around their social dining events in two key tourist destinations in Europe. Data is gathered through multiple methods from participating in and observing social dining events in each city to interviews with key stakeholders in the P2P social dining process (such as hosts, platform employees and ambassadors). The research reveals how dynamic rules, tools, skills and understandings shape and reshape the performance of hosting social dining events. It exposes tensions and ongoing negotiations between hosts and guests regarding matters of authenticity and privacy, an uneven risk burden between hosts and platforms with regards liability and scant regard for matters of sustainability. As a result there is little alignment between P2P social dining and the goals of sustainable tourism

Creative construction: Crafting, negotiating and performing urban food sharing landscapes.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi arguably form the most successful and wide-spread endosymbiosis with plants. In general terms there is very little host-specificity in this interaction, indicating an extremely broad compatibility. However, host preferences as well as varying symbiotic efficiencies have been observed, the molecular basis of which is still largely unknown. Secreted proteins (SPs) may act as fungal effectors to control symbiotic efficiency in a host-dependent manner. Therefore, we studied whether AM fungi adjust their secretome in a host- and stage-dependent manner to contribute to their extremely wide host-range. We investigated the expression of SP encoding genes of R. irregularis DAOM197198 in three evolutionary distantly related plant species, Medicago truncatula (Medicago), Nicotiana benthamiana (Nicotiana) and Allium schoenoprasum (Chives). In addition we used laser microdissection in combination with RNAseq to study SP expression at different stages of the symbiotic interaction in Medicago. Our data indicate that the vast majority of 288 expressed SPs show equal expression levels in the interaction with all three host plants. In addition, a subset (~15%) of the SPs show significant differential expression depending on the host plant and/or environmental condition. This host-dependent expression appears to be controlled locally in the hyphal network in response to host metabolic cues. Overall, this study offers a comprehensive analysis of the R. irregularis secretome, which now offers a solid basis to direct functional studies on the role of fungal SPs in AM symbiosis