Benjamin Bullock ’23 — Thanks to funding from Wabash, I have spent this summer working alongside Dr. Rick Warner H’13 as a research assistant for his book on Latin American food history. As well as researching for the book, we also co-presented talks for both Wabash’s ‘After the Bell’ event and at the World History Association conference.
My main research has focused on the diasporas of food within and beyond Latin America, using food as an analytical tool through which we can view trends in world history. The humble potato, for example, is a foodstuff that we today take for granted, but barely 600 years ago no European had ever seen, let alone tasted one. The rest, as they say, really is history. It is hard to underestimate the culinary, economic, social, and cultural influence of the potato on world history, and this is but one example of a Latin American foodstuff that Dr. Warner and I have sought to trace. The research skills I have picked up over these past eight weeks will no doubt help me in my continued studies and with future graduate-level research.
For both of our presentations, that of ‘After the Bell’ and the World History Association conference, we went live from the 308 (as Dr. Warner refers to his kitchen!) to cook Ropa Vieja, a Cuban beef dish that encapsulates many of the foodways and world history patterns we are interested in. We gave a brief lecture on the dish before getting stuck in with some cooking. In fact, we made so much beef that we had to serve it for an intern lunch one afternoon – safe to say there was very little left at the end. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to present at a conference as an undergraduate and took a lot of professional insights away from the experience.
I’d like to extend my thanks to Dr. Warner, everyone in the Careers Service department, and the College for the incredible opportunity this summer. It has both improved my skills as a researcher and further cemented my desire to continue the study of history at a graduate level.
