• Skip to Content
  • Skip to Main Navigation
  • Skip to Search

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington IU Bloomington

Open Search Menu

The College of Arts & Sciences

Department of Anthropology

  • Home
  • About
    • Four Fields of Study
    • Core Faculty
    • Affiliate & Adjunct Faculty
    • Associate & Assistant Scientists
    • Research Associates
    • Emeriti Faculty
    • Staff
    • Graduate Students
    • History
    • Land Acknowledgement
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • About Bloomington
    • Alumni & Giving
  • Undergraduate
    • Anthropology B.A.
    • Anthropology + Linguistics B.A.
    • Minors
    • Certificates
    • Courses
    • Field Schools
    • Advising
    • Honors Program
    • Funding Opportunities
    • Student Experience
    • FAQs
  • Graduate
    • Anthropology Ph.D.
    • Food Studies M.A.
    • Interdisciplinary Curatorship M.A.
    • Minor, Anthropology
    • Minor, Anthropology of Food
    • Advising
    • Courses
    • Financial Support
    • Fellowships & Awards
    • Student Experience
    • Admissions FAQs
    • How to Apply
  • Research
    • Research Areas
    • Publications
    • Centers & Labs
  • Career Preparation
    • Career Paths
    • Career Advising
    • Professional Training
    • Professional Organizations
  • News & Events
    • Newsletter
    • News
    • Calendar of Events
    • Graduate Student Association Symposium
    • Bauman Distinguished Lecture Series
    • Skomp Distinguished Lecture Series
  • Search
  • Contact
  • Student Portal
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Calendar of Events
    • Graduate Student Professionalization Workshop
  • Graduate Student Association Symposium
  • Bauman Distinguished Lecture Series
  • Skomp Distinguished Lecture Series
  • Home
  • News & Events
  • Calendar of Events
  • Anthropology of Food talk by Dr. Sarah Besky, "Teawords: Experiments with Quality in Indian Tea Production"

Anthropology of Food talk by Dr. Sarah Besky, "Teawords: Experiments with Quality in Indian Tea Production"

Monday, February 3, 2020

4:00 P.M. – 5:00 P.M.

Location: Student Building 005

Abstract:
The identification of distinguishing characteristics of commodities—a process known as “qualification”—frequently involves the use of specialized lexicons.  Before Indian teas are auctioned, brokers evaluate them using a glossary of some 150 English words.  This glossary was devised at the end of the British colonial period by industrial chemists who aimed to subject the aesthetic judgments of brokers to experimental scrutiny.  “Teawords” formed part of a late colonial effort to ensure the circulation of “quality” tea from plantation to market.  After India’s independence, Indian brokers and plantation managers continued this effort.  Like other vocabularies for describing comestible commodities, teawords performatively reproduce gendered and classed distinctions, but they do much more.  When they circulate among brokers and managers, teawords subject plantation conditions to experimental adjustment.  As a form of linguistic and material experimentation, qualification extends colonial norms of valuation—and the institution of the plantation itself—into contemporary capitalist circuits.

In collaboration with IU Emerging Areas of Research - Sustainable Food System Science (SFSS) project

Please refer flyer for more information

  • Faculty + Staff Intranet

Department of Anthropology social media channels

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • College of Arts & Sciences
  • Department of Anthropology

The College of Arts & Sciences

Indiana University

Copyright © 2025 The Trustees of Indiana University

Accessibility | College Scorecard | Privacy Notice

The College of Arts & Sciences

  • About
    • Four Fields of Study
      • Archaeology
      • Bioanthropology
      • Linguistic Anthropology
      • Social-Cultural Anthropology
    • Core Faculty
    • Affiliate & Adjunct Faculty
    • Associate & Assistant Scientists
    • Research Associates
    • Emeriti Faculty
    • Staff
    • Graduate Students
    • History
    • Land Acknowledgement
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • About Bloomington
      • Music + Entertainment
      • Campus Culture & Resources
      • Food & Restaurants
      • Sustainability
      • Sports & Fitness
      • Housing In Bloomington
    • Alumni & Giving
      • Newsletter
  • Undergraduate
    • Anthropology B.A.
    • Anthropology + Linguistics B.A.
    • Minors
      • Anthropology
      • Anthropology of Food
      • Medical Anthropology
      • Archaeology
    • Certificates
      • Global Human Diversity
      • Ethnography of Communication
    • Courses
    • Field Schools
      • IU Field School in Archaeology
      • Field School in Oaxaca
    • Advising
      • Academic Advising
      • Career Coaching
      • Administrative Contacts
    • Honors Program
    • Funding Opportunities
    • Student Experience
    • FAQs
  • Graduate
    • Anthropology Ph.D.
      • Concentration, Archaeology + Social Context
      • Concentration, Food Studies
      • Concentration, Medical Anthropology
      • Concentration, Paleoanthropology
    • Food Studies M.A.
      • Food Studies Coursework
      • Food Studies Resources
      • Career Opportunities
    • Interdisciplinary Curatorship M.A.
    • Minor, Anthropology
    • Minor, Anthropology of Food
    • Advising
    • Courses
    • Financial Support
    • Fellowships & Awards
    • Student Experience
    • Admissions FAQs
    • How to Apply
      • Anthropology Ph.D.
      • Food Studies M.A.
  • Research
    • Research Areas
    • Publications
      • Anthropological Linguistics
    • Centers & Labs
  • Career Preparation
    • Career Paths
    • Career Advising
    • Professional Training
    • Professional Organizations
  • News & Events
    • Newsletter
      • Process: Summer 2023
        • Letter from the Chair
        • Class notes
        • Faculty and staff updates
        • Student updates
        • Spring Celebrations
        • Dr. Fumi Arakawa
        • Dr. Ryan Kennedy
        • Oaxaca Program
        • Dr. Lesourd Retires
        • Tributes and Remembrances
    • News
      • News Archive
    • Calendar of Events
      • Graduate Student Professionalization Workshop
    • Graduate Student Association Symposium
    • Bauman Distinguished Lecture Series
    • Skomp Distinguished Lecture Series
  • Contact
  • Student Portal
    • Undergraduate
      • Anthropology B.A.
      • Anthropology + Linguistics B.A.
      • Minors
      • Certificates
      • Field Schools
      • Advising
      • Honors Program
      • Career Preparation
      • FAQs
      • Resources
    • Graduate
      • Ph.D.
        • Concentration, Archaeology + Social Context
        • Concentration, Food Studies
        • Concentration, Paleoanthropology
        • Concentration, Medical Anthropology
      • Ph.D. Procedures
      • Food Studies M.A.
        • Food Studies Course Descriptions
      • Minor, Anthropology
      • Minor, Anthropology of Food
      • Financial Support
        • External Funding
      • Getting Started at IU
      • Forms + Useful Links
        • Departmental Forms
        • IU + College Forms
    • Courses