Graduation Date
Fall 2024
Document Type
Project
Program
Master of Arts degree with a major in Social Science, Environment and Community
Committee Chair Name
Renee Byrd
Committee Chair Affiliation
Cal Poly Humboldt Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Aaron Gregory
Second Committee Member Affiliation
Cal Poly Humboldt Faculty or Staff
Third Committee Member Name
Jeffrey Crane
Third Committee Member Affiliation
Cal Poly Humboldt Faculty or Staff
Keywords
Black foodways, Food sovereignty, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Cookbook, African diaspora, Archival study, Genealogy
Subject Categories
Environment and Community
Abstract
"Black to the Kitchen: A Genealogical Cookbook" explores the rich cultural landscapes of Afro-diasporic culinary traditions, positioning the Black Kitchen as a site of cultural memory, agency, and creation. This work examines how forced migration, place-based adaptation, and diasporic identity formation converge within Afro-descendant foodways, framing the Black Kitchen as a nexus space for cultural preservation and innovation. Reimagined as a dynamic "Undercommons"—a radical sanctuary inspired by the conceptual frameworks of Stefano Harney, Fred Moten, Katherine McKittrick, and Gloria Anzaldúa—the Black Kitchen emerges as a conduit for cultural reclamation and epistemic sovereignty, countering dominant colonial narratives by asserting Afro-descendant culinary practices as integral to cultural continuity.
Through an in-depth exploration of Afro-descendant dishes paralleling my ancestors' trans-Atlantic journey, this cookbook invites readers to view each recipe as a living archive of Black culinary, ecological, and historical resilience. Grounded in theories of radical cartography, alternative geographies, and cultural counter-mapping, the work elevates these recipes beyond their practical function, seeing them instead as powerful expressions of cultural preservation. In doing so, the Black kitchen becomes a site of cultural resistance—one that nurtures a counter-narrative and honors the profound legacy and ingenuity of Afro-descendant communities across the globe.
Recommended Citation
Harp, Dillon Avery, "Black to the kitchen: A genealogical cookbook" (2024). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 2265.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/2265
Included in
Agricultural Education Commons, Community-Based Learning Commons, Community-Based Research Commons, Demography, Population, and Ecology Commons, Food Science Commons, Food Security Commons, International and Community Nutrition Commons, Migration Studies Commons, Place and Environment Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, Social Justice Commons