Preface Acknowledgments 1. Introduction: Why is Drinking Interesting? 2. Alcohol in the Ancient World 3. Barbarians and Beerpots: European Drinking from the Celts to Victoria 4. A Short History of American Drinking 5. It’s Happy Hour! Modern American Drinking 6. Alcohol Advertising 7. Why do Students Drink? 8.Conclusion: Why do People Drink? Bibliography
Janet Chrzan received a Ph.D. in Nutritional Anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania in 2008.
This is a phenomenal book. A good shot of history, equal parts
anthropology and media analysis and a dash of wit and wisdom. This
is the most sensible and balanced approach to alcohol consumption I
have ever read. It should be required of all college students.
--Ken Albala, History, University of the PacificInstantly engaging,
Janet Chrzan's historical and cross-cultural overview of views and
practices related to alcohol as a "nurturing beverage" or
"dangerous drug," brings to life the value of anthropological
analysis to university students. Making a compelling case for
alcohol as a "total social fact," enmeshed as it is with so many
other facets of social life, Chrzan masterfully portrays the social
meanings of alcohol use. - Andrea Wiley, Anthropology, Indiana
University, BloomingtonThis lively and accessible book bubbles with
intriguing details about the history and culture of alcohol
consumption from the earliest archaeological evidence to
contemporary U.S. college students’ arresting drinking diaries. It
is an engaging introduction to anthropology which encourages
critical thinking about the practices and meanings of campus
drinking."- Carole Counihan, Anthropology, Millersville
UniversityThis book should be required reading for any college
student who has pre-gamed, bar-hopped, tail-gated, shot-gunned,
played beer-pong, or done a beer bong. Janet Chrzan puts American
drinking cultures in theoretical and comparative perspective,
offering practical advice for limiting the harms of alcohol while
still enjoying it sociably.--Jeffrey M. Pilcher, History,
University of MinnesotaJanet Chrzan has captured the
all-encompassing hold of alcoholic beverages on our species from
prehistoric villages to the modern college campus. Whether drinker
or abstainer, we come away from this book with a better
understanding of what drives us toward or away from this most
paradoxical and universal of substances. By turns, alcohol can be
viewed as inspirational and socializing, nutritional and medicinal,
relaxing and restorative, or dangerous and destructive-- Patrick
McGovern, Ph.D. Scientific Director, Biomolecular Archaeology
Laboratory
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and AnthropologyAs
a food historian who appreciates the long view of history, I
heartily welcome this refreshing and highly useful book on the
social implications of alcohol. With a balanced selection of
material past and present, this is the perfect classroom guide to
the basic issues and mores that have defined the role of alcohol
down through time. It enlightens the student, invites
self-examination, and hopefully provides a lasting framework for
dealing with alcohol as a potent and yet highly deceptive medium
for socialization. --Dr. William Woys Weaver, Director, The
Keystone Center for the Study of Regional Foods and Food Tourism
Janet Chrzan has written a probing, insightful (and incidentally
often very amusing) study of alcohol use, alcoholism, intoxication,
social drinking, and the role alcohol plays in many cultures,
including, most specifically, our own. Her broad look at the
problematic role of alcohol in American history is fascinating on
its own; peeling back the layers of meaning in alcohol use and the
social messages it conveys, she reveals a context that can frame
much more of our social habits and beliefs.-- Nancy Harmon Jenkins,
author of The New Mediterranean Diet and many other books about
Mediterranean food, wine, and culinary traditions
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