Faculty-Student Research Highlights: History

Culinary Traditions throughout Migration History

Associate Professor of History Violetta Ravagnoli and Caroline Tempesta '24

Violetta Ravagnoli, an Associate Professor of History at Emmanuel College, is engaged in an exciting new project that delves into Chinese and migration history, offering a fresh perspective on the remarkable lives and legacies of courageous Chinese women who embarked on transformative journeys across the Americas.

At the heart of Ravagnoli’s research lies the exploration of Chinese foodways as a powerful vehicle to uncover the complex history of Chinese women migrations. Throughout the summer of 2023, Ravagnoli, along with her Research Assistant Caroline Tempesta, a rising senior with a double major in History and Secondary Education, meticulously investigates the captivating stories of Chinese women who reshaped their lives abroad by anchoring themselves in their resilient culinary traditions. Through extensive visits to archives and thorough examination of numerous digital resources, they analyze the experiences of a dozen women who, by authoring cookbooks, hosting television shows, and operating restaurants, skillfully transformed their circumstances to adapt and thrive in the American environment. Simultaneously, they fostered a deeper understanding of Chinese culture among foreign audiences. By examining the lives, publications, and achievements of these women, Ravagnoli’s project illuminates the far-reaching impact of their contributions, emphasizing their agency and creativity as they navigated complex intercultural milieus, reshaping familial, social, cultural, and political relations through their transnational lives.

In addition, Ravagnoli pursues a comparative analysis of accomplished migrant women from other ethnic groups, particularly Italian, who similarly capitalized on their culinary traditions and skills. The symmetrical experiences of these women highlight their pivotal role in shaping their own destinies and contributing to the broader fabric of society.

Ravagnoli’s research project not only adds complexity to existing literature on Chinese migrations but also provides a fresh perspective on the intersection of Asian and world history, migration studies, gender dynamics, and food culture within a hemispheric context.

Note from the Professor: if you are a new student, come talk to me about research opportunities and step into the captivating world of these remarkable women and gain a deeper appreciation for their enduring contributions to culinary traditions and the formation of global identities.

Ethnic Tensions in the Post-Yugoslav Era

Associate Professor of History Melanie Murphy and Sara Linsey '24

Associate Professor of History Melanie Murphy and history major Sara Linsey ’24 turned a shared interest of Balkan conflict and the role of ethnic tensions and nationalist competition, with special attention to the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania and Kosovo, into a formalized research project for the summer of 2023.

Their project explains the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s (a series of ethnic conflicts, independence wars, and insurgencies that took place in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which led to and resulted from the breakup of SFR Yugoslavia into six independent countries—Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and North Macedonia—which were formerly republics that made up Yugoslavia) by looking at ethnic tensions, leadership, and legacies.

Murphy and Linsey are looking to answer the questions: What was the basis of the stability in Yugoslavia in the era of former president and prime minister Josip Broz Tito, and why did it unravel? How have the inhabitants of these lands seen their ethnic identity and safety after the Wars? Have ethnic tensions been well managed or exacerbated by regional and international leaders?  What provides stability and peace and what undermines it? The team is diving into various primary (memoirs, news accounts, some interviews, records of War crimes and their prosecution) and secondary (historical writings) sources to complete their research with the goal of providing a characterization of the ethnic factor in the strife in this region, comparing their results to that of other commentators and historians.

Given the complex nature of these separate but related events and a lack of clear presentations from other researchers, Murphy and Linsey hope to create written work, posters and PowerPoint presentations that use common or consistent elements as through lines for use in future study.