The point of this activity is for you to both develop your interview skills, as well as to learn more about cross-cultural differences. You have already been learning more about feasts and reflecting on your own feasting behavior. Now it is time to learn more about the feasting behavior of someone from a different background. Begin by finding a willing interviewee who has a different cultural background from your own. Set up an interview time with this person and let them know you are interested in learning more about feasting behavior in their culture. Be sure to get their informed consent (meaning, explain the activity to them and get their agreement to participate before you begin the interview process.) Write a field report based on your interview about this person’s experiences: Use the following format: A. Introduction: Briefly describe any cultural or religious feasts that are important to this person. (You will want to ask them about what types of feasts they participate in- you might need to help them identify feasts- so ask about religious holidays, important events like weddings, funerals, birthdays, etc.) B. What Makes a Feast? Ask your interviewee to select one of the most important feast from their cultural background. Then ask them about the following aspects of the specific feasting event they have selected. Be sure in your field report to describe each of the following identifiable characteristics of this specific feast: 1. Food (What food was served at this feast? – Was there a surplus of quantity? What about the quality of food- was there special or extravagant food served/ was alcohol included/ are there special foods included you don’t eat on a daily basis?) 2. Size (How many people participated in this feast? The size can range from a small gathering to much larger groups- usually feasts have more participants than a daily meal) 3. Participants (Who were the people present? Think about social groups- gather together to communally eat- e.g., couples, families, lineages, clans, neighborhoods, communities, different ethnic groups, regional groups, etc.) 4. Time: (When was this feast held and why at that time? Was this a designate times- based on religious calendars, rites of passage, events of social/ cultural significance?) 5. Display (How was food displayed / the event decorated? How did this communicate to you information about this particular event? Think about the display of special foods, large quantities of food, better serving vessels, special rooms or spaces that might have been used. These elements define the meal as special / distinct- like eating on the good china- are there elements of the display that tell you about formality/ fanciness of the occasion?) 6. Drama (Were there events that accentuated sense of ritual, public performance, and activities that dramatize the event? These could mean differential seating, distinctive serving order, stories/ speeches/ shows/ ect.) C. The Eating Event Now think about the eating event itself according to the following components: 1. Preparation (Who was responsible for preparing the feast? How long would this preparation likely have taken? Were there messages about gender/ age/ expectations when it came to the labor of preparing and hosting the feast?) 2. Structure (Were there multiple courses? seating arrangements? A table- what shape? Utensils used? Etiquette? What was the speed of service of the food and consumption? Were there expectations of the attendees? For example, were people expected to drink lots of alcohol, dance, help clean up, help cook, bring dishes from home, etc.) 3. Actors (Were there social distinctions between the eaters- how could you see social distance between the eaters? Were statuses and roles visible based on kinship, age, gender, rank, host, guest, or other status? How could you see different status (who did what work/ who ate first or last? etc. ) 4. Implications (What was the purpose of the meal? Did this increase equality/ intimacy/ or solidarity of the group? Did this feast reinforce, construct, or communicate different identity or social difference?)

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Begin by finding a willing interviewee who has a different cultural background from your own. Set up an interview time with this person and let them know you are interested in learning more about feasting behavior in their culture. Be sure to get their informed consent (meaning, explain the activity to them and get their agreement to participate before you begin the interview process.)

Write a field report based on your interview about this person’s experiences:

Use the following format:

A. Introduction: Briefly describe any cultural or religious feasts that are important to this person. (You will want to ask them about what types of feasts they participate in- you might need to help them identify feasts- so ask about religious holidays, important events like weddings, funerals, birthdays, etc.)

B. What Makes a Feast? Ask your interviewee to select one of the most important feast from their cultural background. Then ask them about the following aspects of the specific feasting event they have selected. Be sure in your field report to describe each of the following identifiable characteristics of this specific feast:

1. Food (What food was served at this feast? – Was there a surplus of quantity? What about the quality of food- was there special or extravagant food served/ was alcohol included/ are there special foods included you don’t eat on a daily basis?)
2. Size (How many people participated in this feast? The size can range from a small gathering to much larger groups- usually feasts have more participants than a daily meal)
3. Participants (Who were the people present? Think about social groups- gather together to communally eat- e.g., couples, families, lineages, clans, neighborhoods, communities, different ethnic groups, regional groups, etc.)
4. Time: (When was this feast held and why at that time? Was this a designate times- based on religious calendars, rites of passage, events of social/ cultural significance?)
5. Display (How was food displayed / the event decorated? How did this communicate to you information about this particular event? Think about the display of special foods, large quantities of food, better serving vessels, special rooms or spaces that might have been used. These elements define the meal as special / distinct- like eating on the good china- are there elements of the display that tell you about formality/ fanciness of the occasion?)
6. Drama (Were there events that accentuated sense of ritual, public performance, and activities that dramatize the event? These could mean differential seating, distinctive serving order, stories/ speeches/ shows/ ect.)
C. The Eating Event Now think about the eating event itself according to the following components:

1. Preparation (Who was responsible for preparing the feast? How long would this preparation likely have taken? Were there messages about gender/ age/ expectations when it came to the labor of preparing and hosting the feast?)
2. Structure (Were there multiple courses? seating arrangements? A table- what shape? Utensils used? Etiquette? What was the speed of service of the food and consumption? Were there expectations of the attendees? For example, were people expected to drink lots of alcohol, dance, help clean up, help cook, bring dishes from home, etc.)
3. Actors (Were there social distinctions between the eaters- how could you see social distance between the eaters? Were statuses and roles visible based on kinship, age, gender, rank, host, guest, or other status? How could you see different status (who did what work/ who ate first or last? etc. )
4. Implications (What was the purpose of the meal? Did this increase equality/ intimacy/ or solidarity of the group? Did this feast reinforce, construct, or communicate different identity or social difference?)

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The point of this activity is for you to both develop your interview skills, as well as to learn more about cross-cultural differences. You have already been learning more about feasts and reflecting on your own feasting behavior. Now it is time to learn more about the feasting behavior of someone from a different background. Begin by finding a willing interviewee who has a different cultural background from your own. Set up an interview time with this person and let them know you are interested in learning more about feasting behavior in their culture. Be sure to get their informed consent (meaning, explain the activity to them and get their agreement to participate before you begin the interview process.) Write a field report based on your interview about this person’s experiences: Use the following format: A. Introduction: Briefly describe any cultural or religious feasts that are important to this person. (You will want to ask them about what types of feasts they participate in- you might need to help them identify feasts- so ask about religious holidays, important events like weddings, funerals, birthdays, etc.) B. What Makes a Feast? Ask your interviewee to select one of the most important feast from their cultural background. Then ask them about the following aspects of the specific feasting event they have selected. Be sure in your field report to describe each of the following identifiable characteristics of this specific feast: 1. Food (What food was served at this feast? – Was there a surplus of quantity? What about the quality of food- was there special or extravagant food served/ was alcohol included/ are there special foods included you don’t eat on a daily basis?) 2. Size (How many people participated in this feast? The size can range from a small gathering to much larger groups- usually feasts have more participants than a daily meal) 3. Participants (Who were the people present? Think about social groups- gather together to communally eat- e.g., couples, families, lineages, clans, neighborhoods, communities, different ethnic groups, regional groups, etc.) 4. Time: (When was this feast held and why at that time? Was this a designate times- based on religious calendars, rites of passage, events of social/ cultural significance?) 5. Display (How was food displayed / the event decorated? How did this communicate to you information about this particular event? Think about the display of special foods, large quantities of food, better serving vessels, special rooms or spaces that might have been used. These elements define the meal as special / distinct- like eating on the good china- are there elements of the display that tell you about formality/ fanciness of the occasion?) 6. Drama (Were there events that accentuated sense of ritual, public performance, and activities that dramatize the event? These could mean differential seating, distinctive serving order, stories/ speeches/ shows/ ect.) C. The Eating Event Now think about the eating event itself according to the following components: 1. Preparation (Who was responsible for preparing the feast? How long would this preparation likely have taken? Were there messages about gender/ age/ expectations when it came to the labor of preparing and hosting the feast?) 2. Structure (Were there multiple courses? seating arrangements? A table- what shape? Utensils used? Etiquette? What was the speed of service of the food and consumption? Were there expectations of the attendees? For example, were people expected to drink lots of alcohol, dance, help clean up, help cook, bring dishes from home, etc.) 3. Actors (Were there social distinctions between the eaters- how could you see social distance between the eaters? Were statuses and roles visible based on kinship, age, gender, rank, host, guest, or other status? How could you see different status (who did what work/ who ate first or last? etc. ) 4. Implications (What was the purpose of the meal? Did this increase equality/ intimacy/ or solidarity of the group? Did this feast reinforce, construct, or communicate different identity or social difference?)