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Ashley Rose Young, Graduate Assistant

Ashley Rose Young

Please note: Ashley Rose has left the "History" group at Duke University; some info here might not be up to date.

I am a food and beverage enthusiast and Ph.D. candidate in the History Department at Duke University. I specialize in academic research and teaching; public history and exhibit curation; and library and information science. In my work, I endeavor to create public programming that engages diverse audiences and draws people into American history through a shared interest in culinary culture.

Contact Info:
Office Location:  
Email Address: send me a message
Web Page:  http://ashleyroseyoung.com

Education:

MADuke University2013
BAYale University2010
Specialties:

Cultural History
Race and Ethnicity
Research Interests: 19th Century Culinary History of the United States and Atlantic World

I am interested in exploring cultural networks in America and the Atlantic World—specifically the ways in which Americans are bonded together through food. This is not easy history; it can be as unpredictable as okra gumbo and as dark and mysterious as oysters fauche. But it is a rich and rewarding history, one that taps into the heart of cultural expression and the importance of community in American life. My dissertation, "Nourishing Networks: Municipal Markets and Foodways in the Nineteenth Century South" is an ethno-history of farmers' markets in major port cities such as New Orleans and Baltimore. These farmers' markets were linked to national and Atlantic trade networks that sourced foods from both neighboring and distant port cities. They acted as the central nodes through which most foods passed before making their way into local eateries and family homes. My research places local, national, and Atlantic networks in conversation with one another to examine the ways in which Americans positioned themselves within a national culture during the formative years of early nationhood. The geographic concentration of my project in the American South contributes to the work of Southern scholars highlighting the importance of this region in the construction of American culture and features the role of a typically marginalized group of people—food vendors—in this production.


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