Desperately Craving Indian Food: Indian Restaurants, Cultural Commodification, and Diasporic Belonging in Dallas Fort Worth

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dc.contributorChatterjee, Indrani
dc.creatorYagnik, Veda
dc.date.accessioned2022-10-20T19:28:35Z
dc.date.available2022-10-20T19:28:35Z
dc.date.issued2021-12
dc.description.abstractIn this study, I engage with the question what are the functions of Indian restaurants and their food in the South Asian diaspora? In my work, I consider Indian restaurants as cultural-economic sites, operating on the edge of South Asian communities in that they are accessed by both South Asians and non-South Asians. Subsequently, restaurant spaces create a dialogue through food that evokes questions of cultural commodification, socio-cultural hierarchies, and authenticity in recreation. For this study, I chose to blend elements of a rapid ethnography and case study methodologies to qualitatively analyze selected restaurants in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Metroplex. By studying restaurants holistically, I critically analyze the creation of value in Indian restaurants by examining the restaurant model of six Indian restaurants owned and operated by three restauranteurs. In the following sections, I conduct an intensive literature review of sources related to the South Asian Diaspora, Food Studies, Cultural Reproduction and Belonging, and Management Studies. Following this, I expand on my usage of the Rapid Ethnographic Assessment methodology and my sources of study, including a description of the restaurant sites and restauranteurs included in this study. The final section is a robust discussion of the study findings, attained through a multi-faceted, interdisciplinary research approach. This section explores the role of Indian restaurants while considering the nuanced realities of food, people, and place in the DFW Metroplex. The purpose of this study is to better understand 1) the function of Indian restaurants as cultural landmarks and 2) the operations of Indian restaurants as centers of production.en_US
dc.description.departmentPlan II Honors Programen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/2152/116333
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.26153/tsw/43228
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.relation.ispartofPlan II Honors Theses - Openly Availableen_US
dc.rights.restrictionOpenen_US
dc.subjectSouth Asian Diasporaen_US
dc.subjectFooden_US
dc.subjectIndian Restaurantsen_US
dc.subjectBelongingen_US
dc.subjectCommunityen_US
dc.subjectCultureen_US
dc.subjectIndian Americanen_US
dc.subjectImmigranten_US
dc.subjectRestaurateuren_US
dc.subjectEntrepreneurshipen_US
dc.subjectBusiness Modelsen_US
dc.titleDesperately Craving Indian Food: Indian Restaurants, Cultural Commodification, and Diasporic Belonging in Dallas Fort Worthen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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