Christopher Sisca

christopher sisca headshot

DPhil Student

Green Templeton College

Thesis: Journeys Through Markets and Infrastructure: An Ethnography of Gastro-Tourism in Calabria (working title).

Research: Christopher’s DPhil research is an ethnography on food tourism development in Calabria, Italy, through the perspectives of local entrepreneurs and food producers working in the industry. Connecting to the wider discourses of the ‘Southern Question’, anthropological literature on tourism and development, as well as travel writing done on the region, he aims to understand the nature of ‘development’ in Calabria, linking it to its complex social, economic, and political histories. Through his work he aims to unpack how essentialized discourses and depictions of the ‘South’ (specifically Calabria) still exist and circulate today, and what effect this has on local entrepreneurs, their businesses, and larger development projects in the region. What realities do local business owners face working in the Calabrian food tourism industry (i.e., opportunities, problems, successes, failures, hopes)? What does successful tourism and regional development look like for local communities?

Building from his MSc in Social Anthropology (completed at Oxford in 2016), he previously examined the food production and consumption habits of Calabrians living in Calabria and the importance of cooking in reconnecting to nature, to oneself through the craft of ‘making’ food, and to one another through practices of commensality.

Key words: anthropology of southern Italy, ‘Southern Question’ discourse, tourism, development, travel writing, anthropology of food.

Email: christopher.sisca@gtc.ox.ac.uk 

Supervisor