A dissertation abstract needs to give a reader a sense of your argument in a very short form, no more than 250-300 words. It should begin by introducing the general area of study in which your topic intervenes and then make clear the central argument of your work in the first two sentences. It should provide a sense of the methodological approach that you use in analyzing your topic and provide a compelling yet very brief description that lets readers know why your study is worthwhile and what is distinct about it. Avoid quoting other scholars in your abstract, providing excessive detail, and listing topics chapter by chapter. It is most important to provide an overview in a succinct fashion.
From the French Fry to the Sushi Bar: The Museum of American Food
In Fall 2004, the Museum of the American Food opened on the Washington Mall to much public fanfare. The product of several decades of negotiation, the Museum aims to tell the history of the nation through the history of the American diet and its relationship to American agriculture and immigration histories. Through analysis of government proceedings, archival documents, and interviews with museum curators and staff, this dissertation investigates the complex political process through which the museum came into being, the conflicting narratives presented in its exhibitions, and, ultimately, the ways that the museum attempts to contain cultural and ethnic difference while appearing to embrace it. This dissertation argues that in its attempt to tell a multicultural history of the American diet, the museum actually reinscribes a particular narrative of American history that privileges particular traditional narratives about the American heartland. As a form of pedagogy, the museum's exhibitions construct particular kinds of citizens with a set of regional types (through its examination of regional cuisines) and its uncritical presentation of government nutritional guidelines. This study illuminates the ways that the national museum context of the Washington Mall inevitably incorporates multiculturalism and immigrant narratives into traditional stereotypes of citizenship and nationhood.
