¿Con o sin cebolla? Graphic Narratives and Food in Spain

In this presentation, Prof. Song explores the intersection between graphic narratives, recipe writing, and reading in the context of discourses on national identity, particularly as they relate to everyday practices. I examine this intersection in two works, La Tortilla de Patatas (2016), written in collaboration between David de Jorge and Javirroyo, and Catalan Cuisine (2014) by Juliet Pomés Letz, who illustrated a cookbook from the Institut de la Cuina Catalana. Both publications could be categorized as mixed media as they utilize a variety of visual elements, including drawing, watercolor, and photography, as well as different forms of narrative such as the comic, recipe writing, and memoirs. While these titles could mostly be considered recipe books, I argue that they should be examined through their use of the comic narrative and its aesthetic as they are able to turn what could be considered part of the every day as an opportunity for cultural and political commentary. Amid the ongoing discussion about Spanish identity as the nation faces the cultural and linguistic plurality of its geography and people, these graphic narratives provide insight into how identities are articulated, narrated, visualized, and ultimately, performed as memory that blends in with the everyday.

This event is co-sponsored by the 1902 Lecture Fund.