Introducing Spring 2013 Graduate Assistants:
Chris Maggiolo hails from Harrisonburg, Virginia, a small city nested in the beautiful, rural Shenandoah Valley. After receiving his BA in Anthropology and Environmental Policy from The College of William and Mary, he spent two years working for the Williamsburg Winery. He then moved to Boston to begin the MLA in Gastronomy program, where he currently serves as Graduate Research Assistant. Chris will be providing research support for various department endeavors, such as copy-editing works-in-progress and pouring through dusty tomes in search of long-forgotten or infrequently referenced food knowledge. In aiding the department in its research goals, Chris hopes to further his own knowledge of the anthropology of food.
Brad Jones is originally from the Midwest and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Wabash College in 2010, with a liberal arts degree in History and English Literature. His interest in food was born in Italy; conceived during his study abroad semester in Perugia and developed in the course of extensive WWOOF activity on farms throughout the country. Brad has found special interest in the notion of culinary craftsmanship during his tenure at BU and will conduct focused research on the topic for his thesis beginning this semester and extending through the fall. As a Graduate Assistant to the Gastronomy program, Brad will spend the spring semester editing the first graduate level journal of interdisciplinary food studies research of its kind. Collaborating with graduate students across the country, Brad intends to get the food dialogue flowing across institutions as well provide a space for students to publish their excellent research. When not in the classroom, he can be found sharing his love for artisan cheese at Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge.
Noel Bielaczyc grew up in Northern Michigan, where he cultivated a deep interest in food, natural sciences and art. He went on to receive a BFA in Scientific Illustration and a minor in Biology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. During and after college, Noel supported his hearty appetite and curiosity as a professional fishmonger and seafood buyer, produce buyer, and baker as well as a freelance illustrator and drawing instructor at the Detroit Institute of Art. In his second semester at Boston University, Noel is tentatively pursuing a food policy track and is particularly interested in rural foodways and public health. As the Graduate Communications Assistant, Noel is excited to put his design background and creativity to use as editor of the Gastronomy @ BU blog. His goal is to incorporate more visual art and a sense of playfulness into the blog, while retaining it’s scholarly content. On the side, Noel cuts and sells some of the best seafood in Boston at the East Cambridge institution New Deal Fish Market.