Scott Alves Barton

Scott Alves Barton is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Africana Studies at the University of Notre Dame and a 2024 Kellogg Faculty Fellow. He is also an inaugural fellow in Notre Dame’s Initiative for Race and Resilience, focusing on African Diaspora food and foodways to interrogate race, equity, and identity politics.

His research bridges secular and sacred cuisine in Northeastern Brazil, exploring identity politics, cultural heritage, political resistance, women’s labor and knowledge, and self-determination. He has taught courses on Food, Environmental & Cultural Studies, Anthropology, and Writing at institutions including New York University, The New School, and Pace University, leveraging a 25-year career as an executive chef and culinary educator.

Recent publications, such as 'Sacred and Profane Afro-Brazilian Repasts' (2024) and 'Feeding the Gods' (2025, forthcoming), highlight his interdisciplinary work on Afro-Brazilian religious rituals, foodways, and identity. His 2022 paper on community-engaged pedagogy during the pandemic underscores innovative teaching methods.

• Kellogg Faculty Fellow (2024)
• Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Studies Fellow (2021-2022)
• Ebony Magazine's Top 25 African American/Diaspora Chefs

Barton’s work spans book chapters, journal articles, and public scholarship, including the exhibition 'Buried in the Heart: A Repast for Angels and Martyrs' addressing anti-Black violence through funerary foods and ancestral worship. He serves on the board of the Association for the Study of Food and Society and co-chairs the African Diaspora Religions section at the American Academy of Religion.