'Instant status' during the slaughter

social positioning and power in a Sardinian shepherd family

Abstract

This article uses food as a means to critically explore the existing theoretical debate on social change and power structures. Through a detailed ethnographic analysis of two events-the milking of sheep and the slaughtering of a sleer in rural Sardinia, Italy-the article introduces the concept of 'instant status' to make sense of a particular dynamic of social positioning that is rapid, unexpected and real, but at the same time short-lived and does not lead to a breakdown of the higher level power structures. By introducing this concept, the article aims to contribute to the long-running debate on structure and agency in anthropological theory by offering a way out that acknowledges both.