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9. Maryann Tebben Faculty Bio

Maryann Tebben Faculty Bio

Areas of Specialization

• Renaissance and 17th-century French literature and culture
• French and Italian food history
• Women writers

Interests

Research Interest: French food history and identity, French women writers and salon culture, conversation, theater

Teaching Interest: Early modern French literature, modern French theater, food, and culture, women writers

Biography

Ph.D. in French, University of Southern California 
B.A. (summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) in French and Government, University of Notre Dame

Dr. Tebben previously taught at Syracuse University and SUNY-Oswego. Her primary specialty is early modern French and Italian literature and she has published articles on Molière, Du Bellay, and courtesy books in the Renaissance. She has also explored the relationship of food culture to national identity in France and has published pieces on iconic French dishes, sauces, and the history of dessert. Dr. Tebben regularly presents papers on food culture at national and international conferences, including the IEHCA International Conference in Tours, France (2016), the Umbra Institute Food Conference (2012), and the Colloquium Pomme de Terre at the Université de Tours (2008). She has been teaching at Simon’s Rock since 2000.

Highlights

PUBLICATIONS

• Savoir-Faire: A History of Food in France. London: Reaktion Books, 2020.
• “‘Mon callalou’: Maryse Condé Writing Herself as Female Cook”, Modern & Contemporary France 28(4): November 2020.
• “Semiotics of Sauce: National Identity and Naming of Pasta Sauces” in Representing Italy Through Food (Bloomsbury Academic, 2017).
• “Seeing and Tasting: The Evolution of Dessert in French Gastronomy”, Gastronomica 15(2): Summer 2015.
• Sauces: A Global History. London: Reaktion Books, 2014.
• “Revising Manners: Giovanni Della Casa’s Galateo and Antoine de Courtin’s Nouveau traité de la civilité”, New Readings Volume 13 (2013).
• “Writing the Ineffable: Du Bellay’s Olive”, French Review 78:3 (2005).
• “French fries et identité française: la frite et les fries en tant qu’objets littéraires et culturels” in La Pomme de Terre de la Renaissance au XXIe siècle, Presses Universitaires de Rennes/Presses Universitaires François Rabelais de Tours, 2011.
• “French Food Texts and National Identity: Consommé, Cheese Soufflé, Francité” in You Are What You Eat: Literary Probes into the Palate, Cambridge Scholars Press, 2008.

CAMPUS SERVICE

• Emily Fisher Faculty Fellow 2011-2013
• Chair, ThinkFOOD conference at Simon's Rock, annual event, 2014-present

INTERVIEWS

• “What makes French food so romantic? Butter, more butter, and technique” in Berkshire Eagle (MA), February 10, 2021
• “Hey! What Are These Oysters Doing in My Stuffing?” by Caroline Lange, Food52.com, November 25, 2015.
• “Splendid Table”, Public Radio International, May 2015.
• “Has Italian food lost its 'authenticity'?” by Anna-Louise Taylor, September 24, 2012.
• WAMC Public Radio, Academic Minute,“ French Cuisine”, April 10, 2012.