Problems in Cultural Interpretation

In the words of Louis Menand, “advanced pop criticism” is “the belief that you can talk about cultural goods loved uncritically by millions in terms originally developed to talk about cultural goods known mainly to an overeducated few.” In this class, we will give the same care & attention to cookbooks and food blogs that are often given more traditional forms of writing. Why cookbooks and blogs? Because historically women have expressed themselves through domestic manuals, recipes, and cookery books; even today, with so many avenues open to them, women continue to dominate both cookbook publishing and the culinary blogosphere. The lines themselves might tell us how to bake a really good chocolate cake, what is it we read between the lines?