Snack time in kindergarten as a cultural practice—Implications for processes of subjectivation

Abstract

This article explores subjectivation processes in eating situations in Swiss kindergartens. On the basis of a long-term ethnographic study and against the backdrop of the public discourse on healthy food in schools it investigates how norms and rules are being translated, shaped and performed in daily practices of un/doing difference. This ethnomethodological approach is combined with Judith Butlers deconstructionist perspective of analysing local and institutional norms of recognisability. The findings show that eating situations are highly relevant for processes of subjectivation and also bear a high potential for conflicts regarding differing cultural norms around eating.