"Fat". In contemporary society the word never fails to elicit powerful emotions, especially as it relates to bodily health and appearance. But fat is a noun as well as an adjective and has a cultural life outside of its relationship with the human body. By focusing on the complex physical and experiential dimensions of this problematic substance, Fat: Culture and Materiality breaks new ground in the study of the relationship between culture and the material world. With contributions from well-respected international scholars, this innovative and interdisciplinary collection will appeal to a wide range of readers interested in fat and its relationship to culture, materiality and lived experience. The volume addresses the role of fats in a variety of cultural settings. Topics include the politics of Palestinian olive oil; the allure of pig fat in heritage pork; the material sources of fat stereotypes in classical and biblical texts; the use of harvested fat in aesthetic surgery; and the status of fat in the self-narratives of anorexics.

Introduction: Materializing Fat Christopher E. Forth, University of Kansas, USA and Alison Leitch, Macquarie University, Australia The Qualities of Palestinian Olive Oil Anne Meneley, Trent University, Canada In Tastes, Lost and Found: Remembering the Real Flavor of Fat Pork Brad Weiss, College of William & Mary, USA Thinking through Fat: The Materiality of Ancient and Modern Stereotypes Christopher E. Forth, University of Kansas, USA Joseph Beuys: Shaman of Fat Alison Leitch, Macquarie University, Australia Engrossing Encounters: Materialities and Metaphors of Fat in the Lived Experiences of Individuals with Anorexia Anna Lavis, Goldsmiths College, University of London, UK Fat is the Future: Bioprospecting, Fat Stem Cells, and Emergent Breasted Materialities Nadine Ehlers, University of Wollongong, Australia Bound Bodies: Navigating the Margins of Fat Bodies and Clothes Trudie Cain, Kerry Chamberlain and Ann Dupuis, both Massey University, New Zealand Fatsploitation: Disgust and the Performance of Weight-loss Jennifer-Scott Mobley, Marymount Manhattan College, USA Notes References Index