Praxis Thesis

This study focuses upon the social practices around food at Clark University, a private liberal arts school in Worcester, MA. It explores the role of food, and its associated social practices to unpack a perceived lack of conviviality and community around food within the institution. This work is significant in that food holds many titles; its meaning is contextual to place, identity, and power. It explores the notions of choice and agency among students’ social practices around food. Through student surveys, observations, and an archival analysis, this paper underscores the importance of understanding the meaning of food when conceptualizing and constructing community food initiatives; that it is imperative those initiatives are structured and designed with the multifaceted meanings food involves. In this paper, I use the phrase ‘food as a tool’ to highlight how people use food in different manners alongside different meanings. Finally, this research finds significance in the delineation of ‘food’ and ‘fuel’ in the context of institutional demands onto student life.