---
title: A Taste of Ethnographic Research
date: 2025-04-16T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/a-taste-of-ethnographic-research"
section: Articles
---
# A Taste of Ethnographic Research

*April 16, 2025* — by [Sala Levin ’10](/author/sala-levin-10)


> In New Course, Students Journey Through Foodways of Maryland’s Immigrant Populations

*3 S6 A1115 1920x1080 — Southeast Asian ingredients, including a variety of noodles that line the shelves in one aisle, draw customers to the Angkor Supermarket in Takoma Park. Below, a display of fresh produce including luffa squash stands outside. It is one of four local groceries where UMD undergraduates are visiting and meeting with owners as part of a new course.*

Hannah Tran ’28 was raised on aromatic noodle soups topped with handfuls of mint or basil, and grilled meat with rice prepared by her Vietnamese-born mom. In their Silver Spring, Md., yard, Tran’s parents grow a fibrous squash called luffa and mild, grassy-tasting chrysanthemum leaves, known as *tan ô*, that turn tender in a hot pot or are eaten raw in salads.

Even though she’s never been to Vietnam, Tran said, “I feel a strong connection to being Vietnamese through what my mother feeds me.”

Now, Tran is in a new University of Maryland class that lets students digest the importance of culinary traditions to the state’s immigrant communities. In the Department of American Studies course “Maryland’s Ethnic Foodways,” undergraduates learn ethnographic research skills by talking to members of immigrant populations in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties about the dishes they cook, the ingredients they use and the stores that sell familiar products.


*green luffa leaves grow outside store*



**Sidebar note:**

All through April, Maryland Today will celebrate how the University of Maryland is reimagining learning and teaching. Find more stories at [today.umd.edu/topic/we-reimagine-learning](https://today.umd.edu/topic/we-reimagine-learning).





**Topics:** [Campus & Community](https://today.umd.edu/tags/campus-community)


**Tags:** [American Studies](https://today.umd.edu/topic/american-studies), [Food](https://today.umd.edu/topic/food), [Student Experience](https://today.umd.edu/topic/student-experience), [Multicultural Community](https://today.umd.edu/topic/multicultural-community)


**Units:** [College of Arts and Humanities](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-arts-and-humanities)