Upcoming talks where you can meet me
8th Annual Center for Research in Nutrition and Health Disparities Healthy Eating in Context Symposium
13 April 2018, Alumni Center, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
Conflicted Understanding of Vegetable -- a poster
Vegetable is an interesting and somewhat elusive cultural domain for Americans that refers to selected edible plant portions. As a fuzzy category that is based on function and often learned by example, vegetable is not easily defined. Nevertheless, vegetable is a term used in many American food-related situations despite the fact that the U.S.D.A. does not provide a usable definition of a culinary vegetable. Instead, on the ChooseMyPlate.gov web page, to answer the question “What foods are in the vegetable group?” the following unhelpful answer is given: “Any vegetable or 100% vegetable juice counts as a member of the Vegetable Group”. I report on over 680 interviews collected mostly by undergraduate students at the University of South Carolina under a project approved by the IRB. People’s categorization of specific foods or dishes as vegetable or not are influenced by a number of factors, including cross-classification with dietary nutritional components, personal likes/dislikes/acquaintance, confusion over whether cooking or combining ingredients alters classification, and confusion between botanical and culinary categories. A better understanding of what people understand when told to eat more vegetables is crucial for successful nutritional counseling.
13 April 2018, Alumni Center, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
Conflicted Understanding of Vegetable -- a poster
Vegetable is an interesting and somewhat elusive cultural domain for Americans that refers to selected edible plant portions. As a fuzzy category that is based on function and often learned by example, vegetable is not easily defined. Nevertheless, vegetable is a term used in many American food-related situations despite the fact that the U.S.D.A. does not provide a usable definition of a culinary vegetable. Instead, on the ChooseMyPlate.gov web page, to answer the question “What foods are in the vegetable group?” the following unhelpful answer is given: “Any vegetable or 100% vegetable juice counts as a member of the Vegetable Group”. I report on over 680 interviews collected mostly by undergraduate students at the University of South Carolina under a project approved by the IRB. People’s categorization of specific foods or dishes as vegetable or not are influenced by a number of factors, including cross-classification with dietary nutritional components, personal likes/dislikes/acquaintance, confusion over whether cooking or combining ingredients alters classification, and confusion between botanical and culinary categories. A better understanding of what people understand when told to eat more vegetables is crucial for successful nutritional counseling.
2018 SC Garden Jamboree: Sowing Seeds for the Miracles of Tomorrow
Hosted by the Lexington County Master Gardener Volunteer Association
20 April, Saluda Shoals Park, Irmo, SC
I'm the Keynote speaker: The Myth of the Three Sisters
Did you know that for thousands of years, eastern North American Indians relied on native plants they had domesticated, but those crops now are extinct? And one of them had never before been recognized as a food prior to its archaeological discovery! Come find some myths busted and instead learn what archaeological evidence combined with early historic accounts tell us about the plants important in traditional Indian lives prior to and at contact with Europeans.
Hosted by the Lexington County Master Gardener Volunteer Association
20 April, Saluda Shoals Park, Irmo, SC
I'm the Keynote speaker: The Myth of the Three Sisters
Did you know that for thousands of years, eastern North American Indians relied on native plants they had domesticated, but those crops now are extinct? And one of them had never before been recognized as a food prior to its archaeological discovery! Come find some myths busted and instead learn what archaeological evidence combined with early historic accounts tell us about the plants important in traditional Indian lives prior to and at contact with Europeans.
joint Society of Ethnobiology & Society for Economic Botany conference
4-7 June 2018, Madison, Wisconsin
- As the 2018 Distinguished Ethnobiologist for the Society of Ethnobiology, I'll be speaking on either Tuesday or Wednesday.
- I'm also presenting a paper, Conflicted Understanding of Vegetable
Vegetable is an interesting and somewhat elusive cultural domain for Americans that refers to selected edible plant portions. As a fuzzy category that is based on function and often learned by example, vegetable is not easily defined. Nevertheless, vegetable is a term used in many American food-related situations despite the fact that the U.S.D.A. does not provide a usable definition of a culinary vegetable. Instead, on the ChooseMyPlate.gov web page, to answer the question “What foods are in the vegetable group?” the following unhelpful answer is given: “Any vegetable or 100% vegetable juice counts as a member of the Vegetable Group”. I report on over 680 interviews collected mostly by undergraduate students at the University of South Carolina under a project approved by the IRB. People’s categorization of specific foods or dishes as vegetable or not are influenced by a number of factors, including cross-classification with dietary nutritional components, personal likes/dislikes/acquaintance, confusion over whether cooking or combining ingredients alters classification, and confusion between botanical and culinary categories.
- As if those weren't enough, I'll be presenting in a Teaching Tuesday symposium/workshop on
Teaching Ethnobotanical Ethnography
Collecting ethnobotanical data requires ethnographic skills. I outline how I have taught over 480 undergraduate students in low-level, no-prerequisite courses to collect data and write hypothesis-driven papers after they have passed a national CITI certification for conducting human subject research. Instruction on process (rather than solely content) is required, and I recommend concentrating on a class project that all the students share.
4-7 June 2018, Madison, Wisconsin
- As the 2018 Distinguished Ethnobiologist for the Society of Ethnobiology, I'll be speaking on either Tuesday or Wednesday.
- I'm also presenting a paper, Conflicted Understanding of Vegetable
Vegetable is an interesting and somewhat elusive cultural domain for Americans that refers to selected edible plant portions. As a fuzzy category that is based on function and often learned by example, vegetable is not easily defined. Nevertheless, vegetable is a term used in many American food-related situations despite the fact that the U.S.D.A. does not provide a usable definition of a culinary vegetable. Instead, on the ChooseMyPlate.gov web page, to answer the question “What foods are in the vegetable group?” the following unhelpful answer is given: “Any vegetable or 100% vegetable juice counts as a member of the Vegetable Group”. I report on over 680 interviews collected mostly by undergraduate students at the University of South Carolina under a project approved by the IRB. People’s categorization of specific foods or dishes as vegetable or not are influenced by a number of factors, including cross-classification with dietary nutritional components, personal likes/dislikes/acquaintance, confusion over whether cooking or combining ingredients alters classification, and confusion between botanical and culinary categories.
- As if those weren't enough, I'll be presenting in a Teaching Tuesday symposium/workshop on
Teaching Ethnobotanical Ethnography
Collecting ethnobotanical data requires ethnographic skills. I outline how I have taught over 480 undergraduate students in low-level, no-prerequisite courses to collect data and write hypothesis-driven papers after they have passed a national CITI certification for conducting human subject research. Instruction on process (rather than solely content) is required, and I recommend concentrating on a class project that all the students share.
International Congress of Ethnobiology
7-10 August 2018, HANGAR Convention Center, Belem do Para, Brazil
- Paper submission: Botanical Knowledge of Young Adults in a Developed Country
Few studies examine the local botanical knowledge of young adults in developed countries, where most of the population is increasingly distanced from nature. These young adults generally do not grow their own food, collect or use medicinal plants, or otherwise directly depend upon local vegetation. Growing up in a rural area as opposed to a suburban or urban area confers no advantage in plant knowledge, although those who hunt frequently know more plants than do those who don’t hunt. These young adults are most likely to recognize the plants that surround them, but they are surrounded by managed and planted vegetation that is usually not local in origin. I previously found that college students could correctly list four or more local crops, trees, and garden flowers, but could list three or fewer local wild or weedy plants, vines, or grasses (Wagner 2008). Since then, my students and I have collected data on college student ability to identify the plants that they listed, or plants that grow locally. I report on two data sets, solicitation of tree and vine names from a marked trail through campus focused on plants that seem to hold saliency for a small sample of subjects (n=39), and solicitation specifically seeking knowledge of folk life form versus generic names of common landscape plants on campus (n=>190). As expected, folk life form knowledge is higher than is generic knowledge, but not all life forms are correctly named at the same frequency. Students are most likely to recognize the life form of tree, but naming of other life forms is inconsistent, with bush or shrub the next most commonly recognized life form. These interviews of college students between the ages of 18-25 were collected following approved ethical review by the Institutional Review Board of the university.
- Poster submission: Conflicted Understanding of Vegetable
Vegetable is an interesting and somewhat elusive cultural domain for Americans that refers to selected edible plant portions. As a fuzzy category that is based on function and often learned by example, vegetable is not easily defined. Nevertheless, vegetable is a term used in many American food-related situations despite the fact that the United States Department of Agriculture does not provide a usable definition of a culinary vegetable. Instead, on the ChooseMyPlate.gov web page, to answer the question “What foods are in the vegetable group?” the following unhelpful answer is given: “Any vegetable or 100% vegetable juice counts as a member of the Vegetable Group”. I report on over 680 interviews collected mostly by undergraduate students at the University of South Carolina under a project with ethical approval from the university’s Institutional Review Board. People’s categorization of specific foods or dishes as vegetable or not are influenced by a number of factors, including cross-classification with dietary nutritional components or meal components, conflict with concepts of what is a vegetable, personal likes/dislikes/acquaintance, confusion over whether cooking or combining ingredients alters classification, and confusion between botanical and culinary categories.
7-10 August 2018, HANGAR Convention Center, Belem do Para, Brazil
- Paper submission: Botanical Knowledge of Young Adults in a Developed Country
Few studies examine the local botanical knowledge of young adults in developed countries, where most of the population is increasingly distanced from nature. These young adults generally do not grow their own food, collect or use medicinal plants, or otherwise directly depend upon local vegetation. Growing up in a rural area as opposed to a suburban or urban area confers no advantage in plant knowledge, although those who hunt frequently know more plants than do those who don’t hunt. These young adults are most likely to recognize the plants that surround them, but they are surrounded by managed and planted vegetation that is usually not local in origin. I previously found that college students could correctly list four or more local crops, trees, and garden flowers, but could list three or fewer local wild or weedy plants, vines, or grasses (Wagner 2008). Since then, my students and I have collected data on college student ability to identify the plants that they listed, or plants that grow locally. I report on two data sets, solicitation of tree and vine names from a marked trail through campus focused on plants that seem to hold saliency for a small sample of subjects (n=39), and solicitation specifically seeking knowledge of folk life form versus generic names of common landscape plants on campus (n=>190). As expected, folk life form knowledge is higher than is generic knowledge, but not all life forms are correctly named at the same frequency. Students are most likely to recognize the life form of tree, but naming of other life forms is inconsistent, with bush or shrub the next most commonly recognized life form. These interviews of college students between the ages of 18-25 were collected following approved ethical review by the Institutional Review Board of the university.
- Poster submission: Conflicted Understanding of Vegetable
Vegetable is an interesting and somewhat elusive cultural domain for Americans that refers to selected edible plant portions. As a fuzzy category that is based on function and often learned by example, vegetable is not easily defined. Nevertheless, vegetable is a term used in many American food-related situations despite the fact that the United States Department of Agriculture does not provide a usable definition of a culinary vegetable. Instead, on the ChooseMyPlate.gov web page, to answer the question “What foods are in the vegetable group?” the following unhelpful answer is given: “Any vegetable or 100% vegetable juice counts as a member of the Vegetable Group”. I report on over 680 interviews collected mostly by undergraduate students at the University of South Carolina under a project with ethical approval from the university’s Institutional Review Board. People’s categorization of specific foods or dishes as vegetable or not are influenced by a number of factors, including cross-classification with dietary nutritional components or meal components, conflict with concepts of what is a vegetable, personal likes/dislikes/acquaintance, confusion over whether cooking or combining ingredients alters classification, and confusion between botanical and culinary categories.
2016 Public Talks
Photo by Nan McCrary
Colonial Encounters
Where: USC-Lancaster, Native American Studies Week
When: 25 March 2016, 10:00 am
Use of Plants by American Indians
Where: Morris Center for Lowcountry Heritage, Ridgeland, SC
When: 1 June 2016, 11:00 am - noon
Use of Plants by American Indians
Where: Baruch Marine Field Laboratory, Georgetown, SC
When: 4 June 2016, 9:00 am - noon
Cofitachequi: A Chiefdom
Where: Gilbert-Summit Branch of the Lexington County Library
When: 14 June 2016, 5:30-6:30 pm
Colonial Encounters
Where: Chapin Branch of the Lexington County Library
When: 16 June 2016, 6:00-7:00 pm
Use of Plants by American Indians
Where: Pelion Branch of the Lexington County Library
When: 30 June 2016, 6:00-7:00 pm
Use of Plants by American Indians
Where: Irmo Branch of the Lexington County Library
When: 12 July 2016, 7:00-8:00 pm
Use of Plants by American Indians
Where: South Congaree-Pine Ridge Branch of the Lexington County Library
When: 19 July 2016, 5:30-6:30 pm
Where: USC-Lancaster, Native American Studies Week
When: 25 March 2016, 10:00 am
Use of Plants by American Indians
Where: Morris Center for Lowcountry Heritage, Ridgeland, SC
When: 1 June 2016, 11:00 am - noon
Use of Plants by American Indians
Where: Baruch Marine Field Laboratory, Georgetown, SC
When: 4 June 2016, 9:00 am - noon
Cofitachequi: A Chiefdom
Where: Gilbert-Summit Branch of the Lexington County Library
When: 14 June 2016, 5:30-6:30 pm
Colonial Encounters
Where: Chapin Branch of the Lexington County Library
When: 16 June 2016, 6:00-7:00 pm
Use of Plants by American Indians
Where: Pelion Branch of the Lexington County Library
When: 30 June 2016, 6:00-7:00 pm
Use of Plants by American Indians
Where: Irmo Branch of the Lexington County Library
When: 12 July 2016, 7:00-8:00 pm
Use of Plants by American Indians
Where: South Congaree-Pine Ridge Branch of the Lexington County Library
When: 19 July 2016, 5:30-6:30 pm
© Gail E. Wagner, 2014. The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author. The contents of the page have not been reviewed or approved by the University of South Carolina. Page last updated 19 April 2018.