Drinking Cultures: Alcohol and Identity

Alcohol is not only big business, it has become an essential part of social relations in so many cultures that its global importance may be outdistancing its critics. Despite grim health warnings, its consumption is at an all-time high in many parts of the developed world. Perhaps because drinking has always played a key role in identity, its uses and meanings show no signs of abating. What does sake tell us about Japan or burgundy about France? How does the act of consuming or indeed abstaining from alcohol tie in with self-presentation, ethnicity, class and culture? How important is alcohol to feelings of belonging and notions of resistance?Answering these intriguing questions and many more, this timely book looks at alcohol consumption across cultures and what drinking means to the people who consume or, equally tellingly, refuse to consume. From Ireland to Hong Kong, Mexico to Germany, alcohol plays a key role in a wide range of functions: religious, familial, social, even political. Drinking Cultures situates its consumption within the context of these wider cultural practices and reveals how class, ethnicity and nationalism are all expressed through this very popular commodity. Drawing on original fieldwork, contributors look at the interplay of culture and power in bars and pubs, the significance of advertising symbols, the role of drink in day-to-day rituals and much more. The result is the first sustained, cross-cultural study of the profound impact alcohol has on national identity throughout the world today. The book includes 2 maps, 2 tables, 2 diagrams.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 Drinking Cultures: Sites and Practices in the Production and Expression of Identity Thomas M. Wilson, Binghampton University Chapter 2 Drinking Country: Flows of Exchange in a Japanese Valley Brian Moeran, Copenhagen Business School Chapter 3 'Cold Beer, Warm Hearts': Community, Belonging and Desire in Irish Pubs in Berlin Cliona O'Carroll, National University of Ireland-Cork Chapter 4 Pivo at the heart of Europe: Beer-drinking and Czech identities Timothy M. Hall, University of California, USA Chapter 5 Drunk and (Dis)Orderly: Norwegian Drinking Parties in the Home Pauline Garvey, National University of Ireland-Maynotth Chapter 6 Cognac, Beer, Red Wine or Soft Drinks? Hong Kong Identity and Wedding Banquets Josephine Smart, University of Calgary Chapter 7 Consuming Wine in France: The 'Wandering' Drinker and the 'Vin-anomie' Marion Demossier, University of Bath Chapter 8 Romantic Moods: Food, Beer, Music and the Yucatecan Soul Steffan Igor Ayora-Diaz, Universidad Autnoma de Yucatn and Gabriela Vargas-Cetina, Universidad Autnoma de Yucatn Chapter 9 Cheers and Booze: Football and Festa Drinking in Malta Jon P Mitchell, University of Sussex and Gary Armstrong, Brunel University Chapter 10 Drinking Rituals, Identity and Politics in a Basque Town Sharryn Kasmir, Hofstra University. Chapter 11 Alcohol and Masculinity: The Case of Ethnic Youth Gangs Geoffrey P. Hunt, independent scholar, Kathleen MacKenzie, independent scholar and Karen Joe-Laidler, University of Hong Kong Chapter 12 Drinking Politics: Alcohol, Drugs, and the Problem of U.S. Civil Society Anthony Marcus, The University of Melbourne

About the Author :
Thomas M. Wilson is Professor of Anthropology, Binghamton University.

Review :
An ethnographic pub crawl around the world. By examining drinking habits from rural Japan to gangland Los Angeles, these essays peer deep into the collective souls of societies, revealing their hopes and anxieties. Thomas Wilson has made an important contribution to the anthropology of alcohol. It offers a fascinating insight into how and why people drink in different cultures. An imaginative and innovative volume that gives new perspectives on ethnicity and identity as well as on alcohol use and its outcomes.