“ētto” Talk 1:
Umming over Eating: Hospitality and Miscommunication

This is the first in a series of talks that uses our key phrase—ētto—as a jumping-off point to think about society and culture. Our guest Mariko Arata, who has studied the food cultures of Indonesia—a multi-ethnic nation—from the perspectives of cultural and linguistic anthropology, will consider the question of communication when serving food. Can hospitality that’s “good” in one culture always be perceived in the same way in another? When we pause with an “um…” to think about food, what kinds of communication and miscommunication are revealed? This talk will closely examine, from various perspectives, the diversity of “eating” that arises from differences in foodways, lifestyles, religions, and cultural values.

Guest: Mariko Arata (Professor in Department of Gastronomy Management, Ritsumeikan University)
Host: Kyoto Experiment Co-directors