Associate Professor Catarina Passidomo ‘04 to Present DeLaney Center Dialogue Discussion Passidomo will use her essay “Rooted in Sand: A Reflection on Teaching and Tomatoes” to explore “Tomatoes and Southern Racial Realities.”
Catarina Passidomo, associate professor of environmental studiesThe DeLaney Center at Washington and Lee University will present two events on Tuesday, Sept. 17 involving Catarina Passidomo ‘04, associate professor of environmental studies. The first event is a Reading Club Breakfast held from 8 to 9 a.m. in the second-floor conference room at the Gin Hotel in downtown Lexington. The second event is the initial DeLaney Dialogue discussion of the 2024-2025 academic year, held in the Watson Pavilion from noon to 1 p.m. Both events include a free meal and are open to the public.
The Reading Club Breakfast involves digesting Passidomo’s essay “Rooted in Sand: A Reflection on Teaching and Tomatoes,” which appeared in an issue of the Southern Foodways Alliance’s quarterly publication Gravy. The essay mixes autobiography, history and teaching testimony to illuminate race and agriculture in Florida. While enjoying breakfast, guests will explore conversations with Passidomo to better understand her thoughts and interests in the topic.
The DeLaney Dialogue discussion will again reference Passidomo’s essay for a deeper discourse about “Tomatoes and Southern Racial Realities.”
“My essay draws on my upbringing in South Florida and reflects on my time teaching southern studies at the University of Mississippi,” said Passidomo. “As a teacher and lifelong student, I have always found food to be an evocative entry point to more trenchant analyses of social and environmental problems. As I say in the essay, tomatoes are not Florida’s most iconic crop, but they help me draw connections among food, labor, politics, history and the environment; these connections feel especially resonant right now. I look forward to discussing these themes during the Reading Breakfast and DeLaney Dialogue, and I am grateful to (DeLaney Center Director) Michael Hill for the invitation.”
Passidomo is in her first year as a faculty member at W&L. She spent the previous 10 years teaching Southern studies and anthropology at the University of Mississippi. Passidomo earned a Bachelor of Arts in sociology and anthropology from W&L, a Master of Arts in anthropology from the University of Georgia and a Ph.D. in geography from Georgia. She specializes in sustainable food systems, human-environment interactions, agriculture and climate adaptations, and food- and place-branding.
The Delaney Dialogues was created to engage audiences in conversation about regionally resonant themes, allowing for open discourse and learning opportunities. Exhibiting innovative strategies for teaching and researching Southern racial realities, these programs allow faculty and other interested participants to imagine how this protean region fits into broader professional and public possibilities.
The DeLaney Center is an interdisciplinary academic forum that promotes teaching and research on race and Southern identity. Visit the DeLaney Center website for updates on further DeLaney Dialogues, film screenings and other programming.
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