February 2023
Chiles & Chocolate: Sweet and Spicy Foods in the American West with Chris Glenn and Sandy Sunseri
Come have a taste of the rich and savory history of these food favorites, explore how early peoples used them, and how they have evolved and spread to all corners of the world. Food is a portal into culture and can convey a range of cultural meaning including occasion, social status, ethnicity, and wealth depending on the social context. Discover how chiles and chocolate became identity markers in gender roles and relationships, essential in rituals and religious customs, popular in…
Find out more »March 2023
Deconstructing the Taco: The History and Lore of a Beloved Food with Gregory McNamee
The foods of Arizona speak to the many cultures, native and newcomer, that make up our state. Consider the taco, that favorite treat, a staple of Mexican and Mexican American cooking and an old standby on an Arizonan’s plate. The corn in the tortilla comes from Mexico, the cheese from the Sahara, the lettuce from Egypt, the onion from Syria, the tomatoes from South America, the chicken from Indochina, the beef from the steppes of Eurasia. Join Gregory McNamee, the…
Find out more »Assembling the Southwest: The History and Geography of a Region with Scott Warren
Our region is a diverse and contrasting patchwork of cultures, resources, and environments. So how did the Southwest and its cultural and natural icons become so distinctive in our collective imagination? In this richly illustrated presentation we will pull from the broad discipline of cultural geography to explore the historical processes that made the Southwest into both a geopolitical reality and a distinctive region in our imagination. With an understanding of how the Southwest was assembled, we can perhaps better…
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