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Preface and Acknowledgments

In writing Who Owns Culture?, I have found that questioning the ownership and authenticity of “cultural products”—whether cuisine, dress, music, dance, folklore, handicrafts, images, healing arts, rituals, performances, natural resources, or language—seems guaranteed to produce the sort of mild indignation often caused by the discussion of politics over a holiday dinner. One outraged soul will demand immediate justification: “Hold on! Why exactly doesn’t the legal system protect our community against cultural appropriation? We’ve given a lot to this country, and we deserve to benefit from our contributions.” At the other end of the table, someone is certain to interrupt:“Wait a second—it’s the mix of cultures that makes America great! Are you telling me I can’t borrow from other groups?” (In this vein, one of my more fashion-conscious students was overheard telling classmates in a horrified whisper,“I’ve read one of Professor Scafidi’s articles. I don’t think she believes in accessorizing!”) From the family intellectual provocateur may come a semi-historical factoid such as, “You know, Marco Polo really brought spaghetti from China,” a remark likely to spark debate over which aunt or uncle makes the best old-style tomato sauce to accompany the pasta—cooked al dente, of course. The practical peacemaker at the dinner table, level-headed and eager to move on to dessert, will remind everyone that culture is fluid and evolving, and, in any case, it would be quite difficult to establish restrictive forms of ownership or to police cultural borrowing of everyday art forms. And so back to the particular fish or fowl, sweets or savories, and especially family recipes that mark a particular cultural occasion.Whether they are called objects of cultural elaboration, traditional knowledge, folklore, cultural heritage, or intangible cultural