Ascent of Woman Series-Janet A. Flammang, Author, The Taste for Civilization: Food, Politics, and Civil Society

Duration
1:00:09

The evolving status of women in the world today will be explored at The Commonwealth Club throughout the month of August in the series The Ascent of Woman.

Through speakers, panels, films and art, we will examine this transformational period in women's history, this dramatic shift from the expectation of our mothers' choices, to how we work and live today in ways that reach out through our families and communities to reverberate throughout the nation.

The Ascent of Woman series will illuminate women's lives today, where women are redefining what a 'woman's place' will be.


The Taste for Civilization


Janet A. Flammang, Professor and Chair of Political Science, Santa Clara University; Author, The Taste for Civilization: Food, Politics, and Civil Society


The recent deterioration of family mealtime traditions raises questions about the concomitant lack of civility in America’s political and civil discourse. Are our dining rooms the fundamental education foundation of our civility? Could they be the source of our awareness of the importance of the common good and what it means to be a good citizen? Professor Flammang combines political theory, feminist analysis and cultural study to explore the familiar world of our dinnertime rituals and the civilizing function of food.


This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on August 31, 2010