ABSTRACT
Human behavior is capable of interpretation and understanding at different levels and in diverse dimensions. In recent decades, under the influence of semiotics, structuralism and the general analysis of behavior as text, anthropologists and sociologists have engaged in much insightful examination of varying levels of meaning of action. This chapter discusses that one meaning of the potluck lies in its contrast to formal modes of meal presentation to visitors. That contrast provides useful insights into American forms of hierarchy and equality emerging in contemporary American life. The potluck has become an accepted part of the possible forms of home entertainment among many circles in American life. The potluck is a meal in which each guest has the food that he or she and all the other guests and the hostess have provided. The potluck is still comparatively new in the circles where the formal dinner party had been a requirement of decent hostessing.
