Alimentary agents: food, cultural theory and multiculturalism

Taking a micro-social example of a specific moment of food consumption, this paper contributes to the social aesthetic study of intercultural food exchange. Theoretically it mobilises the varied resources of anthropology, psychoanalysis and social aesthetics to argue that 'alimentary pedagogy' is a central component to becoming social, and that in a multicultural society 'alimentary pedagogy' is an urgent but equivocal political matter. It sets out to argue for the importance of an approach to intercultural sensual life that is attentive to the intensity of non-ideational experience; and that recognises the agency of non-human agents (in this case food). Aggressive eating by Anglo-Celtic British men in 'Indian' restaurants is the example that is used to explore the productivity and potential of this approach.