Culinary History Enthusiasts of Wisconsin (CHEW)
Goodman Community Center-Ironworks 149 Waubesa St., Madison, Wisconsin 53704
press release: “Identified by Food?: Foodways and Identity in a Chaldean American Family”
Presented by Christine J. Widmayer
Growing up, Chrissy Widmayer didn’t know exactly what it meant to be “Chaldean.” She knew the term meant her great-grandparents were from Iraq and were Catholic, and she knew that her family made and ate Chaldean foods. After interviewing her family members and researching her family’s foodways, traditions, and history, Chrissy discovered how complex ethnic identity can be: for some family members, being Chaldean is a matter of pride and interest, while others do not feel comfortable claiming Chaldean heritage. Nonetheless, cooking and eating Chaldean foods has provided family members with a specific family identity—the dishes are the ties that bind the family together. Exploring her research into her family’s own Chaldean American foodways and history, this talk will demonstrate how Chrissy and her family members use Chaldean foodways as a way to connect to one another and perform who they are.
Christine J. Widmayer is a PhD candidate in Folklore Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has an MFA in Creative Writing (creative nonfiction) and a graduate certificate in Folklore Studies from George Mason University, where she also taught composition and literature. Her dissertation examines how foodways and storytelling become performances of intimacy in small groups. She studies personal experience narrative, family folklore, gender, and foodways. In addition to her studies and teaching, Christine is a co-editor for Gazing Grain Press, an inclusive feminist chapbook press.