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Merry White

Professor of Anthropology at Boston University

Schools

  • Boston University

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Biography

Boston University

Dr. Merry White returns to Japan often to continue research in contemporary social and cultural topics. She presently is engaged in research on urban social spaces and social change in Japan, particularly on the history of the cafe. Her teaching includes courses on Japanese society, women in Asia, food and culture, and the anthropology of travel and tourism.

Dr. White’s past work includes books on Japanese education (The Japanese Educational Challenge, Free Press), internationalization (The Japanese Overseas, Free Press and Princeton UP), adolescence and popular culture (The Material Child, Free Press and University of California Press), and family and social policy (Perfectly Japanese, University of California Press). She has also published work on education and international development, women in Japan, and even two cookbooks, Noodles Galore and Cooking for Crowds (both Basic Books). In addition, her work includes essays on food and culture published in Gastronomica, (University of California Press), and in other media.

In 2012, Dr. White’s latest book, Coffee Life in Japan, was published by University of California Press. She subsequently received the Japan Society’s John E. Thayer Award, which annually recognizes significant achievements by an individual or institution in the field of U.S.-Japan relations.

Development from the “grounds” up: coffee for schools in rural Cambodia

In 2002–2003, while resident in Kyoto and conducting research on the social history of cafes in Japan, Dr. White learned of a project to build schools in devastated areas of Cambodia. When she also learned that coffee was the main crop of the area, and that it cannot be exported due to overplanting in Vietnam, she networked marketing experts with the farmers in Cambodia, and helped to start the export of Cambodian coffee to Japan. There are now eleven Japanese specialty roasting companies buying the coffee, and one in America. The blends are doing very well and the companies all donate a percentage of sales to community building. There are now about 220 elementary schools in the project and one of them, built by Richard Dyck, is named for the man who directed both Dr. White’s and Mr. Dyck’s dissertations, Ezra F. Vogel.

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Cases

How The Military Has Influenced Cuisine All Over The World

November 29, 2017

KCET Merry White British curry, the banh mi sandwich in Vietnam, spam and condensed milk. All of the above are food staples that wouldn’t have been possible without the unique influence of war and the military… Expert quote: “One of the most ancient foods from military aggression is the matzo. It was eaten on the […]

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San Francisco gets a taste of Japanese-style hot dogs

April 12, 2017

San Francisco Chronicle  Merry White, College of Arts and Sciences Making a hot dog at Takuya Japanese Style Hotdog and Bowl, which has locations in San Mateo and San Francisco’s Inner Sunset neighborhood, is no mere matter of applying yellow and red squiggles to the sausage, or even a heap of kraut for the probiotically […]

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This Is Why Everyone Gets So Excited About Free Food At Work

August 31, 2016

Refinery 29 Merry White, College of Arts & Sciences Ever wondered why you are so interested in those stale doughnuts in the break room, the mystery-meat-on-a-stick samples at the grocery store, or the less-than-appetizing leftovers from that catered work lunch? Expert quote: “Food came ‘free’ from the mother’s breast and within the family; most middle- […]

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In search of okonomiyaki, the addictive Japanese pancake

May 28, 2016

PRI’s The World Merry White, College of Arts & Sciences I was in Japan 14 years ago when a friend from Hiroshima wanted to introduce me to a beloved local food… Expert quote: “I didn’t like it the first time I had it. It’s a very goopy dish, it doesn’t look pretty. The Japanese have […]

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A store’s mission found in translation

May 21, 2016

Boston Globe (subscription required) Merry White, College of Arts & Sciences For decades, visitors who have felt priced out of the baubles at Tiffany & Co. or Cartier in Tokyo’s high-end shopping district have found refuge in Itoya , a Japanese stationery store that sits amid the jewelers, and treats its paper goods, and pens […]

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Putting identity politics on the table

May 3, 2016

Boston Globe (subscription required) Merry White, College of Arts & Sciences Picture Boston’s food scene without Coppa’s pizza or Toro’s tapas, without Tiger Mama’s pad Thai or smoked salmon at Bagelsaurus. Grim, isn’t it?… Expert quote: “This is a new culinary cry. It has created what I call the Red Guards. These Red Guards, like […]

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Boston Chinese: A Fusion Food Cooked Up In A Melting Pot City

March 30, 2016

NPR “The Salt: What’s On Your Plate” Merry White, College of Arts & Sciences Chinese food has become ingrained in this country’s culinary landscape over the years — giving rise to some uniquely Americanized dishes like General Tsao’s chicken, beef and broccoli, and of course, the ubiquitous fortune cookie… Expert quote: “Both the Italian and […]

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What’s In My Lobster Sauce? A History Of Chinese Food In Boston

March 3, 2016

WBUR “Radio Boston” Merry White, College of Arts & Sciences Listen to audio of expert Merry White

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Coffee costs more? Not really. How breakfast prices changed over time

July 8, 2015

USA Today Merry White, College of Arts & Sciences For Starbucks addicts, breakfast fuel just got more expensive… Expert quote: “People experiment with the rest of their day,” but breakfast “is a ritualized meal. Americans like their eggs, toast, bacon, pancakes, coffee, orange juice and breakfast cereals.” View full article

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How Boston’s Chinatown dining scene came to be

June 10, 2015

Boston Globe (subscription required) By Merry White, College of Arts & Sciences Always look up when you’re in Chinatown, my colleague said, for a sense of the people who’ve been here before us and for the real life of a place… View full article by expert Merry White

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