About this episode

Nathan and Breanna discuss the evolution and cultural significance of dinner parties.

On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Nathan and Breanna discuss all things dinner parties. The two begin by discussing what they like about dinner parties and their personal experiences hosting and attending them. They then review common features of traditional dinner parties (cocktail hour, place settings, multiple course meals, and after-dinner entertainment) before detailing how they have changed over time. Amongst other things they discuss how Emily Post and Martha Stewart presented competing visions of the high-effort dinner party, how the depreciation of dining-related antiques demonstrates the decline of dinner parties in America, and how modern dinner parties emphasize a relaxed approach that is best demonstrated by Allison Roman’s Nothing Fancy. Links: Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home by Emily Post How Dinner Parties Became the Fuzzy Blanket of Adulthood by Alissa Wilkinson The Dinners That Shaped History by Brenda Wineapple Eating Together : Food, Friendship and Inequality Alice P. Julier The Pleasure of Your Company (but No Gaucheries, Please!): Dinner Parties in 19th-Century America by mansionmusings Entirely Entertaining: Dishing…

People in this episode

Hosts: Nathan, Breanna

Topics covered

• dinner parties
• hosting
• etiquette
• cultural changes
• social gatherings

Keywords

• dinner parties
• hosting
• Emily Post
• Martha Stewart
• Allison Roman

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Nothing Fancy, Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home, How Dinner Parties Became the Fuzzy Blanket of Adulthood, The Dinners That Shaped History, Eating Together : Food, Friendship and Inequality, The Pleasure of Your Company (but No Gaucheries, Please!): Dinner Parties in 19th-Century America, Entirely Entertaining: Dishing Dinner Party Trends Through the Decades, The Art of Entertaining, Why Dinner Parties Still Matter, Entertaining

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