Thesiss

This dissertation is a study of Ottoman expansion in the Indian Ocean, beginning with Sultan Selim the Grim's conquest of Egypt in 1517, and ending with the corsair Mir Ali Beg's last naval expedition to the Swahili Coast in 1589. The aim of my research is to create a coherent n…

The chili pepper came to occupy global cuisine in variegated ways through performative negotiations of cultural differences. From the Inca royal garden, Moyas, a locus of power where doves feed on chilies to the swidden farms of the Carribean in which the chili grows wild; from …

Previous analyses of late medieval writing produced in Western Europe and its relationship to the East have been largely occupied by studies concerning the monstrous. Said studies dealt with how the West depicted the people of the East as “Other” and grotesque due to religious a…

Southern California has witnessed a growing Indian immigrant population in recent decades. This established Indian community represents an enormous pull factor for prospective immigrants. Among the cultural features that most distinguishes Indian immigrants is their cuisine, in …