The French-born artist Jean Charlot spent his early career during the 1920s in Mexico City.
FOOD: Transforming the American Table 1950-2000
Grade Range: K-12
Resource Type(s): Reference Materials, Interactives & Media
Date Posted:
4/9/2014
Whether convenient, fast, organic, processed, gourmet, ethnic, or local—the foods available to Americans have never been more plentiful and diverse, or more ripe for discussion. Coupled with big changes in who does the cooking, where meals are consumed, and what we know (or think we know) about what’s good for us, the story of Americans and food in the last half of the twentieth century is about much more than what’s for dinner.
This exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History explores those changes and some of the factors—new technologies, influential people, and broad shifts in social and cultural life—behind them.
National Standards
Standards in History (Grades K-4)
United States History Standards (Grades 5-12)
Historical Thinking Standards (Grades 5-12)
Historical Thinking Standard 3: Historical Analysis and Interpretation
3B: Consider multiple perspectives.
3C: Analyze cause-and-effect relationships.
3D: Draw comparisons across eras and regions in order to define enduring issues.
3E: Distinguish between unsupported expressions of opinion and informed hypotheses grounded in historical evidence.
3F: Compare competing historical narratives.
3G: Challenge arguments of historical inevitability.
3H: Hold interpretations of history as tentative.
3I: Evaluate major debates among historians.
3J: Hypothesize the influence of the past.