Graduation Year
January 2011
Graduation Month
May
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
School or Department
English
Faculty Mentor Department
English
Faculty Mentor
Kathleen Kane
Faculty Reader(s)
David Moore
Keywords
Ebenezer Elliott, Corn Laws, slavery, colonization, Maya, Arturo Warman, Juan Felipe Herrera, literature, control, exploitation, capitalism, corn, food power
Subject Categories
Cultural History
Abstract
Corn's status as a critical food crop, and its location within indigenous new world cosmographies, illustrate the important sociocultural role the plant has played for millennia. However, modern society has elevated Zea mays far above the status of mere plant, fashioning it into a commodity intimately connected to systems of control and capitalism. Consequently, corn has played an essential role in colonization, industrialization, and the advent of overproduction. The beliefs and literature of numerous new world cultures, along with the literatures of modern Western cultures, offer a striking analysis of corn's current position in western society. The far-reaching impacts that corn has on our socioeconomic and subsistence systems reveal a great deal about globalization, commodification, and dominance. This paper examines corn through a cultural studies lens, documenting the influence of this iconic foodstuff and analyzing its effects over historical and cultural boundaries.
Honors College Research Project
Yes
Recommended Citation
Mueller, Ginny Marie, "Corn and Culture: The Influence of Zea mays across Cultural and Historical Boundaries" (2011). Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts. 8.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/utpp/8
Included in
© Copyright 2011 Ginny Marie Mueller