Dr. Ty Matejowsky, Professor & Chair of Anthropology at UCF, Presents: “Smothered and Covered: Waffle House and the Southern Imaginary”

Legacy Pointe Auditorium

Bio: His primary research area is food and foodways, particularly the globalization of fast food and symbolic meanings behind popular restaurant brands.  His books include 2018’s Fast Food Globalization in the Provincial Philippines (Lexington Books), 2022’s Smothered and Covered: Waffle House and the Southern Imaginary (University of Alabama Press), and 2025’s Risqué Business: Breastaurants in American Culture. He was awarded the 2014 Association for the Study of Food and Society’s Belasco Prize for Scholarly Excellence for his publication “The Incredible, Edible Balut: Ethnographic Perspectives on the Philippines’ Favorite Liminal Food.” 

Abstract: Dr. Matejowsky will present insights from his book Smothered and Covered: Waffle House and the Southern Imaginary, exploring the cultural significance of this iconic Southern institution. More information on Dr. Matejowsky: https://sciences.ucf.edu/anthropology/person/ty-matejowsky/