Second Prospectus
As you can tell I am doing a Scalar project. All of the media and collections of text I have found pertaining to Slovenian food, immigration, culture, and enterprise indicate that a Scalar style project will convey my topic much easier and with means to communicate my ideas with the masses. My audience is greater than just the professor so a Scalar project is the best choice to make the information easily accessible.
I framed my question with room to elaborate on numerous facets of the topic. The other aspects will include Slovenian immigration to Southern Colorado, food styles from Slovenia, Slovenian style foods in Pueblo, those cooking the food, the effects of food on the community in Pueblo, and several others. The "why" format of the question will give rise to an in depth investigation of what Slovenian food was, to the immigrants and locals alike, and how the movement of the Slovenian culture effected the culture of Pueblo. Pueblo is a culture of immigrants, so why is Slovenian food still present? Why do we have potica on Christmas and why during Easter do we make little fried cookies? Some cultures merge and combine to create a sort of aged melange where the line between the two is blurred however the Slovenian heritage is rich throughout Pueblo and the food culture stayed very much alive and separate. So why is it that the Slovenian ways of cooking stayed individualized and specific?
Possible thesis: Traditional Slovenian food changed the food culture of Pueblo because the Slavic immigrants created food that fed a hungry working class creatively and efficiently which then evolved to passionate and artisanal cuisine.
See Sources.(Click the link to my Bibliography)
Topics: The dashed ideas are the topics and the following sentence is the explanation of the topic's relation to the thesis.
Immigrants to Pueblo:
-Stats on reasons, methods, dates, and numbers of Slovenian Immigrants.
The dates, methods, and sheer numbers of immigrants give a quantitative aspect of how and why food would be an exchanged element in the introduction of a population in Pueblo.
-What did the immigrants do when they arrived in Pueblo?
The investigation of jobs taken up by the immigrants shows what classes and sectors of the population that had the opportunity to be influenced by the immigrants.
-What did the immigrants bring with them from Slovenia?
The culture that is brought with the immigrants is important to dissect as food is a great portion of the imported culture.
Food:
-Traditional Slovenian food.
The food that was normal for the immigrants' homeland needs to be examined as it is a pivotal portion of their culture and the native food from their homeland can demonstrate a great deal of what remained in the immigrant culture once the Slovenian people arrived in Pueblo.
-Ceremonial or religious/none-ceremonial food.
Religion is a large part of Slovenian culture both in Slovenia and the United States and if there was ever an important food to always have and know how to make regardless of current location, religious or ceremonial food is the most vital.
-Ingredients both native in Slovenia and what was available in Pueblo(compare and contrast)
What makes the food Slovenian by nature is mostly technique, however the availability of common ingredients here in the states allowed for the maintenance of traditional food post immigration.
-Favorite recipes.
These are the non-ceremonial foods that were reminiscent of home and kept the culture thriving within the immigrant population in Pueblo. These are also the recipes that enticed non-Slovenians to the point of branding the cultural identity of "Slovenian food" in Pueblo.
Popular foods in Pueblo
This subject is an extension of the previous topic, however it garners it's own category as there are a handful of specific recipes that stand tall against some of the less favorable recipes brought from the homeland, like pork jelly. This category will also include who the recipes appealed to, including but not limited to: laborers of the mill that would share desserts from their lunch pails and people of non-Slovenian origin that attended Catholic mass alongside the immigrants.
Effects on Community:
-Church functions
As mentioned previously, the Catholic church plays an enormous role in the lives of Slovenians here and in Slovenia, and including the functions that occur in the church can demonstrate the ability that food has to bring together the community of both Slovenian and non-Slovenians.
-Brotherhoods and insurance sales
The relationship that is built by providing a coworker life or health insurance that may not have been available to immigrants working for the steel mill gave rise to opportunities for other to experience Slovenian culture through meetings with refreshments, banquets, and barbecues.
-Marriages
An article that I found had stated that one of the great aspects of moving to a community such as Pueblo meant that one Slovenian did not have to marry another Slovenian. The ability for cultures to collide was reinforced by wedlock outside of native heritage.
-Tradition/homesickness
Being far away from home can make someone lose hope and sight of their dreams of a better life through immigration, however with the ease of access of ingredients and numerous fellow Slovenians in the surrounding area traditional food of an immigrant's homeland can provide a resurgence of culture to create a miniature homeland on U.S. soil.
-Financially efficient
The mainstays of traditional Slovenian food were inexpensive and able to be stretched over numerous meals. The working class American (Slovenian immigrant in this case) utilized similar staple pantry ingredients to feed large amounts of people. Or at least small amounts of people more times than thought possible.
