Engaging Cultural Narratives of the Ethnic Restaurant: Discursive Practices of Hybridity, Authenticity, and Commoditization

Robin Patric Clair; Isaac Clarke Holyoak; Theon E. Hill; Prashant Rajan; Elizabeth L. Angeli; Melissa L. Carrion; Sydney Dillard; Rati Kumar; Shaunak Sastry

doi:10.1108/S0163-2396(2011)0000037009

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Studies in Symbolic Interaction

ISSN: 0163-2396
Series editor(s): Professor Norman Denzin

Subject Area: Sociology and Public Policy

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Engaging Cultural Narratives of the Ethnic Restaurant: Discursive Practices of Hybridity, Authenticity, and Commoditization

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Title:	Engaging Cultural Narratives of the Ethnic Restaurant: Discursive Practices of Hybridity, Authenticity, and Commoditization
Author(s):	Robin Patric Clair, Isaac Clarke Holyoak, Theon E. Hill, Prashant Rajan, Elizabeth L. Angeli, Melissa L. Carrion, Sydney Dillard, Rati Kumar, Shaunak Sastry
Volume:	37 Editor(s): Norman K. Denzin, Ted Faust ISBN: 978-1-78052-156-5 eISBN: 978-1-78052-157-2
Citation:	Robin Patric Clair, Isaac Clarke Holyoak, Theon E. Hill, Prashant Rajan, Elizabeth L. Angeli, Melissa L. Carrion, Sydney Dillard, Rati Kumar, Shaunak Sastry (2011), Engaging Cultural Narratives of the Ethnic Restaurant: Discursive Practices of Hybridity, Authenticity, and Commoditization, in Norman K. Denzin, Ted Faust (ed.) Studies in Symbolic Interaction (Studies in Symbolic Interaction, Volume 37), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp.135-161
DOI:	10.1108/S0163-2396(2011)0000037009 (Permanent URL)
Publisher:	Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Article type:	Chapter Item
Abstract:	This study uses ethnographic methods to explore the discursive practices that give life to ethnic restaurants, establishing identity, and addressing community engagement. Employing postcolonial and postmodern perspectives that discuss discursive practices of hybridity, authenticity, and commoditization, the research focused on five culture-specific restaurants: Irish, Italian, Korean, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern. The restaurants' stories are studied through observation, interviews, and the situated approach as discussed by Denzin (1994). The findings suggest that some restaurants openly embraced hybridity, defied and debunked stereotypes, and resisted hegemonic constructions of individuals and of culture by enacting narratives of defiance, while others attempted to maintain traditional images or commodify the culture. Using the situated approach revealed a post-postcolonial tension between certain restaurants within the community.