Rice and Beans: A Unique Dish in a Hundred Places

1. Introduction, Richard Wilk, Indiana University, USA and Livia Barbosa, Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing, Brazil 2. The National Dish of the 'Motherland': Rice, Beans and African Beginnings Michael W. Twitty, Independent Scholar, Maryland, USA 3. Sustenance in Special Times: Rice and Beans in Post-Soviet Cuba, Anna Cristina Pertierra, University of Queensland, Australia 4. Jamaican Versions of Rice and Peas, B.W. Higman, Australian National University, Australia 5. Rice and Beans in the Eastern Caribbean, Riva Berleant, University of Connecticut, USA 6. Rice with Beans and Beans with Rice, Livia Barbosa, Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing, Brazil 7. Beans as Patria, Locus and Domus in Brazilian Cuisine, Carlos Alberto D ria, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Brazil 8. 'Cook-up Rice': Constructing Guyanese Identities with Rice and Beans, Gillian Richards-Greaves, Indiana University, USA 9. All in One Pot: The Place of Rice and Beans in Panama's Regional and National Cuisine, Carla Guerr n Montero, University of Delaware, USA 10. Defending National Foodways: Laying Claim to Tradition in Costa Rica, Theresa Preston-Werner, Northwestern University, USA 11. Independence, Globalization and Rice and Beans, Richard Wilk, Indiana University, USA 12. Rice and Beans, Staple of Even the Most Respectable Mexicans, Mari-Jose Amerlinck, Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico 13. Red Beans and Rebuilding: An Iconic Dish, Memory and Culture in New Orleans, David Beriss, University of New Orleans, USA 14. Conclusion, Sidney Mintz, Johns Hopkins University, USA

Richard Wilk is Provost's Professor of Anthropology and Director of Food Studies at Indiana University. His recent books include Home Cooking in the Global Village (Berg, 2006) and Fast Food/Slow Food (2006). Livia Barbosa is Professor of Anthropology and Research Director at the Center of Advanced Studies of the Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and has written extensively on food trends and habits in Brazil.

Rice and Beans provides an excellent examination and deep insight into the important and varied roles these food play in the diets, lives, and cultures of people across the Americas. Jane Fajans, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Cornell University This book fills a gap in the food literature by focusing upon a dish which is widely found in the Americas. The authors use historical, economic and cultural explanations to analyse not only the reasons for ubiquity of this dish, but also its regional variations and links with ethnicity, class and nation-state. Pat Caplan, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, Goldsmiths, University of London This is an academically-focussed collection of essays looking at various aspects of rice and beans, a meal that is very popular in a broad area encompassing Western Africa, the Caribbean and North, South and Central America. Various theories are espoused as to how two simple staple items could be unique in their own right yet combined into a "different" dish shared by many countries, such as a common history, links to slavery and other trades... You won't get a lot of recipes or be a better cook, but you will be more informed and knowledgeable after reading it. Yum.fi 20130904