Rome 2011
One of the most dramatic popular culture associations of the United States in Rome is the McDonald’s restaurants. Here in the posted “mini-ethnographies” supplied by graduate students in the American Studies program at La Sapienza, are analyses of how these restaurants are currently used. The mini-ethnographies are a result of a short-term seminar titled “American Cultures Beyond Literature” offered at La Sapienza by Jane Desmond in November, 2011 as part of the IFUSS/ La Sapienza exchange agreement. Students observed populations and behaviors in Roman McDonald’s restaurants to begin to think about everyday life as a set of cultural practices open to investigation as a way of complementing literary studies of the United States. We thank these students for sharing their first forays into ethnography as a mode of learning!
“Mini Ethnography of McDonalds” Samples:
