Table of contents; Preface
3
Introduction
4
Definition of term
5
La baguette – Historical and factual Delimitation
7
Point of Interest
8-9
Methodology & Theory Working the field
10-12
13-14
Analysis & Interpretation Conclusion
23
Bibliography References
24
Appendix
24-25 25
15-22
6
Preface The report is written on the basis of studying the baguette. The task is to observe, describe, and analyze the outcome of the field research regarding la baguette carried out in the streets of Paris Spring 2014.
3
Introduction La baguette may be synonymous with French living or even more with Parisian life. Everywhere you go within the streets of Paris the bread – la baguette is part of your sight. There are bakeries on every street corner and the delicious scent of freshly baked bread may even hit your nose. Suddenly you find yourself in a long queue at noon with others wanting, needing and buying the same – la baguette. But what are we buying exactly, beside a long piece of bread, that often has a light browned appearance with iconic diagonal lines across top and a certain crunch to it, certainly more than just bread would some Parisian bakers or experts on the subject may say. The long history of bread and the art of bread making with its cultural, social, symbolic - and even religious significance could play a role in our decision when buying the baguette today. ”Bread may appear at first sight too commonplace, too simple, to be worth detailed scholarly analysis. But its central role in the cuisine of many cultures, and its resulting economic, social and symbolic significance shows that it is closely connected to some of the most important aspects 1 of society that students of culture seek to elucidate.”
http://civilisations.revues.org/1353
footnote 1 4
Definition of term 2
Baguette: noun, a variety of bread that is long and narrow in shape , origin France
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baguette
footnote 2 5
La baguette – Historical & Factual In France long pieces of bread have been produced for centuries although the name Baguette was first introduced in 1920. It is said that the Aus3 trian officer August Zang, introduced the steam-fired oven in Paris in the early nineteenth century making it possible to produce long breads with crust and soft centre. The long bread is also said to be a descendant of the Austrian bread ”pain viennois” which August Zang also introduced to the Parisians at the same time. La baguette is known for its length, crisp crust and defined by French law. The baguette has a diameter of metres and it can be up to a meter long, mostly it’s 24 going up to 65 centimetres. The baguette is eaten fast, lunchtime or with supper. It is commonly known is good if their baguette is good.
the dough which is about 5 to 6 centihas the length from either at breakthat a restaurant
La baguette may be viewed as an iconic symbol of Paris often portrayed in various souvenirs such as postcards, garments and refrigerator magnets just to name a few. Its popularity has spread around the world. Almost every bakery outside France with respect for the art of bread making has also adopted la baguette to please their customers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baguette
footnote 3 6
Delimitation The main focus of the assignment is limited to the anthropological and semiotic approach of researching the field of baguettes in Paris. Hereby all the observations and investigations are performed by me. I will therefore not go into deep details explaining the theories behind the field research nor will I in deep details try to identify the historical, religious or even economic aspects concerning the baguette - bread. I will, however, still try to summarize and take these matters into account if necessary. Due to a time and resource factor taken into consideration the focus and research of the baguette has been limited to a number of chosen bakeries and districts in Paris. Firstly, this has been chosen to track the development and possible matches within the research. Secondly to create acquaintance with daily users and more importantly to create rapport4 with informants helping me identify patterns in their interactions and experiences with baguettes.
Social Research Methods, Chapter 13/Field research, p.391, section Building Rapport footnote 4
7
Mindmap
Point of Interest When starting my journey exploring everyday objects in Paris, I found that bakeries, bread and cakes in general were –and are- essential parts of living in Paris. My curiosity was further awakened when I discovered that the Parisians and tourists in particular bought baguettes compared to other food categories at the bakeries. Suddenly I began seeing baguettes everywhere I went, people having them under their arms going from bakeries, people eating and sharing them in the streets or having them popping up from their bags while walking. Not only where baguettes being bought and eaten, they were also being displayed in various souvenir and design shops in Paris. Transformed into other consumer items may give the baguette deeper significance seen in cultural and social context. My desire to find out more concerning la baguette got me on a joyful journey in the streets of Paris. Finding out exactly how and why this particular food-object was -and is - important to many citizens or visitors in Paris. By observing la baguette as an object and a sign -seen from a semiotic perspective- it revealed itself as having the possibility of containing more social and symbolic meaning than by first glance. “As Eco(1976) beguiligly put it - the sign is intrinsically a lie. That is, an object is held to be a ‘sign’ of something else, a proxy for some 5 other social meaning”
Understanding Material Culture, p.57, first section, l.3-5 footnote 5 9
Journey of la baguette
Methodology & Theory Field research and empirical data gathering; 6
Via an anthropological -and based on a structural approach to the subject have I tried to incorporate the general knowledge I have received during class readings on the topic design as a material culture. I uncover through my observations and interviews the current segment’s perception of, and views on the object -la baguette, in bakeries in Paris anno Spring 2014. The observations have been made within 3 districts of Paris that being the 4th, 5th and 10th over a period of 4 month. There have been chosen 5 bakeries within the 3 districts; 2 bakeries in the 5th, 2 bakeries in the 10th and 1 bakery in the 4th. This has been chosen to create an overview of the observations and to facilitate my research do to a time factor. But more importantly, and as previously mentioned, also to create a relationship of trust between me and the respondents. Other observations have been made by following random consumers from these bakeries going to other destinations in Paris. I have made semi-structured interviews with 5 individuals who visited one of the following bakeries. The 5 individuals consisted of 3 women, hereby 2 Frenchwomen and 1 tourist. One Frenchwoman was a sales assistant in the one of the bakeries and therefore an expert on the topic. Furthermore, I have interviewed 2 men, 1 Frenchman and 1 tourist. Frenchwoman - 4th district, Female tourist - 10th district, Frenchwoman & sales assistant - 5th district, Frenchman - 10th district, Male tourist 5th district. A semi-structured qualitative interview is characterized by developing as a normal conversation between 2 individuals. This has been chosen to create an easy and non-hostile environment in hope of getting the informants to respond in a more intuitive and authentic way to my questions regarding la baguette. Furthermore, has there been implemented an expert interview with a French sales assistant working in a bakery to uncover the object more thoroughly.
Understanding Material Culture, p. 60-61, second section, Structuralisme as a general model for understanding culture, footnote 6
11
Methodology & Theory Visual representation; I have taken pictures of the locations and of my observations. I have even illustrated some of the observations to substantiate and map the outcome of my research. The illustrated work has been added to give a different design appearance and experience for the reader. Desk research; By using digital data gathering has there been created an additional overview on the subject, this regarding both historical, factual as well
12
Journey of la baguette
Working the field The observations; The journey of investigating la baguette started with visiting random bakeries within Paris and then it was narrowed down to the 5 bakeries as mentioned earlier. I began observing these bakeries both morning noon and night to see the variation of people coming and going. Who bought it and how much did they buy. What did they do with it right after the purchase and where did they go when leaving the bakery. What kind of people came only in the morning, at noon or in the evening –and were there a difference of gender buying the object during the day opposed to the night. Were there differences to what the citizens of Paris bought compared to the tourists. Could there be added any patterns in human behaviour regarding this object -and if yes how or what could
this behaviour provide significant understanding of people living or visiting Paris –if any. The interviews; Collecting information from costumers visiting the bakeries was not always easy due to a language barrier but also due to the hurry people seemed to be in when leaving the location. Other questions then arised, why were most of them in such a hurry, where were they attended to be and why was the purchase of la baguette important for them despite their time constraints. When finally getting people to talk their answers versus their behaviour provided additional questions and research. This was also why I decided to made use of the semi-structured qualitative interview when interviewing my 5 informants. I needed to dig deeper into the answers they provided me with. This way of gathering information was made possible due to revisiting these bakeries and recognizing some of people that were to become some of my informants.
14
Journey of la baguette
Analysis & Interpretation The observations; Sensing, seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting la baguette was a good way to start out both observing others during the same when purchased the object but it also put me in the field of experiencing and understanding their desire even more deeply. I found that in the mornings and at noon people of both genders and all age groups bought la baguette. In the evening I observed that men were overrepresented buying the bread and they would often buy more than one. I began following some of these baguette lovers on their way leaving the bakeries. Many of these people had la baguette either under their arm or holding it in the hand like some kind of bag. Some even promptly putted the bread into a bag or backpack after buying it. It would most often stick up from their bags as sending some kind of sign to others passersby on their way.
Many of them would suddenly stop and begin to take parts of it, starting to eat it instantly while walking. If they were within a group they would most likely share the bread, the baguette-carrier would then take parts of it and pass pieces on to other members within the group. The baguette-carrier was not always the purchaser, there could easily occur a (gift)exchange within the group right after the purchase or when leaving the bakery. The carriers would often walk very content holding the bread especially if part of a group. Were there children involved they would usually get the task as the baguette-carrier most often because they had either asked or begged others in the group to be the one. When sharing the bread in this constellation the child could either pass it on to an older member of the group and let them share it or if the child was old enough it would begin sharing the bread with the others.
17
informants
Analysis & Interpretation People’s journeys from the bakeries took many different directions depending on which time of the day they made their purchase and if they were either citizens or visitors of Paris. If citizens they would most likely go to work in a high pace, go home or visit friends homes – this is, however an assumption because I did not always follow all my observations to their end destination. The tourists would mostly stroll the streets of Paris in a slow pace not leading to a direct destination. In all, these observations have been far more difficult to analyze due to non-interaction with the individuals involved. The patterns here are somewhat vague and can be seen as being over-interpreted. However, there are some interesting findings, such as the (gift)exchange of la baguette, the ritual about bread-sharing and the urge to signal the purchase when in bags. Men were overrepresented in the evenings and most often bought more than one baguette. Citizens and visitors were equally good in buying the object.
The interviews; 7
Following up on the findings asking questions was necessary in order to really unfold the social and symbolic meaning of this food-object if any and to see if there were patterns and structure to be laid out. All of the informants agreed on that they buy baguettes and that they like the taste, look and feel to it. The women were more restrained in their answers on when they bought it and 2 of them mentioned calories as reason for not buying it as often. Mostly they all bought their baguettes in the morning. Some commented that there are different kinds of baguettes and that these different kinds were used on different occasions. Semi-stuctured qualitative interview - questions, appendix, footnote 7
19
Analysis & Interpretation When asking about la baguette as being a possible Parisian icon most of them agreed on that it was –and is an icon - but their answers on why were a little unclear. It seemed as they just bought into the idea because it is commonly accepted in society. None of them knew the origin or history of the food-object except the Frenchman but the historical context seemed to have no significance to them.
What the baguette meant to them was on the other hand very subjective and important to both citizens and visitors. Some would even close their eyes while telling a personal story about the first time they had la baguette as if it was some kind magical eating. Taking the answers and stories from the respondents combined with my observation I began noticing outlines of structure, patterns and social meaning regarding la baguette as a material object. But at the same time all this information also created the contrary that being chaos; no structure, no patterns, no meaning. 20
Analysis & Interpretation Perhaps the questions I asked created the answers I wanted to hear. Perhaps what people told me they did or how they felt regarding la baguette was or is something entirely different than what they actually do or feel.
If any structure or pattern in their behaviour or meaning regarding the object it is this, eating and sharing the bread is an old social act and it gives both pleasure to the giver and the receiver. Eating, sharing and showing off la baguette in Paris makes tourists feel Parisian in some way, buying into a dream of wishful thinking, it gives them of feeling of being something that they are not –Parisian. To Parisian themselves this play of disguise has become a part of their own story and they themselves buy into it being more aware of the play. The symbolic meaning of la baguette can therefore be viewed as Parisian living, a Parisian icon – as the respondents all agreed on.
21
Analysis & Interpretation The (hi)story is irrelevant but my story is essential even though we seem to forget that these 2 factors are interconnected. We don’t see the whole story or myth surrounding this object but this doesn’t matter because we are only interested in our own self-presentation of the matter – showing it off.
Why men were overrepresented in the evening still remains a mystery, the answers gave no clear explanations nor ideas as to why this was the case. 22
Conclusion The research process and hereby the outcome has created more questions than answers within the field of studying la baguette. The qualitative studies were few making it difficult to generalize any social or symbolic value regarding the object. However, based on the analysis and assessment, there are indications that the object carries status as being an icon and synonym of Parisian living both to citizens but even more so for visitors of Paris. It carries as food-object social value with many underlying values dating back in time but this has no significance to the iconic value which in some way outshines it. It can thus be concluded that the task as a whole can be viewed as a preliminary study to further and more thorough investigation and analysis of the object - la baguette.
Fin............ 23
Bibliography Social Research Methods – Qualitative & Quantitative Approaches (PDF) 6. edition, 2006, W. Lawrence Neumann, University of Wisconsin at Whitewaker, Page 378-414 Understanding Material Culture 2007, Ian Woodward, Page 8-84
References http://civilisations.revues.org/1353 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baguette
footnote 1 footnote 2, 3
Social Research Methods, Chapter 13/Field research, p.391, section Building Rapport footnote 4 Understanding Material Culture, p.57, first section, l.3-5 footnote 5 Understanding Material Culture, p. 60-61, second section, Structuralisme as a general model for understanding culture, footnote 6 Semi-stuctured qualitative interview - questions, appendix, footnote 7
Inspiration http://www.allempires.com/article/index.php?q=bread http://www.lepetitfrancais.com/history http://foodimentary.com/2012/03/21/a-history-of-the-baguette/ http://bahaicatholic.wordpress.com/2008/11/03/the-spiritual-meaning-ofbread-part-2/ http://kernz.org/bm/Words/Artifact/Bread.htm http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/bread https://www.behance.net/gallery/Fun-facts-about-Paris-%28illustrated-infographics%29/5475381 http://painrisien.com/ http://www.ehow.com/info_8706822_baguettes.html 24
Inspiration http://www.wakkipedia.com/WEIRD-FACTS-ABOUT-BAGUETTE/ http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/how-has-bread-been-symbolic-culturally-religiously-466275 http://www.finedininglovers.com/stories/french-baguette-facts-figure/ http://francetravelplanner.com/go/paris/areas/arrondismt.html
Appendix
Semi-stuctured qualitative interview - general questions asked; When do you buy baguette? What do like about baguette? When do you eat the baguette? Who buys the baguette? Where do you buy the baguette? How does the baguette taste? How does the baguette smell? How does the baguette look? How does the baguette feel? Is the baguette viewed as a Parisian icon ? – why? What do you know about the baguette? How many kinds of baguettes do you know?
25