27 September 2011

CALL FOR PAPERS: What′s cooking? Food and eating at home

The Histories of Home Subject Specialist Network (SSN) is inviting papers for the Fourth Annual SSN Conference 'What`s cooking? Food and eating at home' to be held at the Brunei Gallery, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London on Friday 9 March 2012.

There has been growing academic interest in the study of food, cooking and culinary history since the early 1990s, from the production and exchange of food on a global scale to its preparation and consumption on an individual level. This conference will focus on food within the domestic setting by charting changes in foodspaces over time, examining the politics of foodwork and investigating patterns of food consumption at home. Given the wealth of material available on the themes of food, memory and diaspora, the conference will have a UK-based geographical focus, which may include migrant food journeys centred around UK experiences.

 

We invite proposals for 25 minute papers on the following themes:
Foodwork
- patterns and negotiation of foodwork at home
- food as a marker of continuity and change within family life
- the changing meanings of objects involved in preparing and serving meals
- gendered division of labour in foodwork
- transmission of culinary skills
Foodspaces
- changes in foodspaces over time and their influence on how and where people cook and eat
Food pathways / food journeys
- including kitchen gardens, box schemes, food parcels and recycling
Cooking and identity
- cooking as expression of self-identity
- food and socio-economic status
Sharing food
- family meals and "proper meals"
- everyday feeding and eating habits
- feasts and celebrations at home
- hospitality and home entertaining
- the role of ritual and religion in food practices
Food idea(l)s
- including household manuals, changing table manners, food norms, healthy diets and eating disorders, the relationship between practice and aspiration, food as moral choice
Representations of food activities at home
- blogging, advertising, film, government propaganda, TV `foodporn`

Building on the tradition of previous SSN events, the Conference programme will include historical and contemporary papers from a wide range of disciplines. We are equally keen to encourage submissions from:
- academics and researchers;
- museum professionals who care for, interpret and use kitchens/culinary collections within historic house museums;
- archivists responsible for cookery book and household manual collections, and
- experimental archaeologists investigating food and cooking

Proposals
Please submit proposals, including title, abstract (of 200-300 words) and a brief biographical statement (c.100 words) by Monday 14 November 2011 to:

Krisztina Lackoi, SSN Co-ordinator, klackoi@geffrye-museum.org.uk
The Geffrye Museum of the Home, Kingsland Road, London, E2 8EA
http://historiesofhomessn.wordpress.com/

Participants will be notified of acceptance by early December 2011.

26 September 2011

Seminar: ‘Conservation and Source Communities: Research, Objects and Treatments’

Wednesday November 16th, 2011
The Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford

Join the ICON Ethnography Group for a seminar exploring the growing links between conservators and source communities both in the UK and abroad.

In acknowledgement of the role source communities play as stakeholders in the care of collections, and with cultural institutions pushing for wider access and education, conservators have increasingly been seeking consultation with these groups. This has given fresh insight into collections, and informed conservation treatments and interpretation.

The day will include talks on recent collaborative projects between conservators and communities through direct participation and consultation at a distance. Participants will also discuss ethical issues that arise through consultation, and the continuing development of links between source communities and cultural institutions over the years.

The seminar will be held at the Pitt Rivers Museum, which houses an outstanding collection of world artefacts and archaeology, and which has an ongoing programme of active engagement with source communities both in the UK and around the world.

Please go to the Ethnography Group page on the ICON website for registration forms and more information:
http://www.icon.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=112&Itemid=

or Email:  ethnoreg2011@gmail.com


Student: £30

Regular: £45

Lunch will be provided

21 September 2011

RAI: Blast from the Past

In anticipation of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, the Royal Anthropological Institute’s Education Outreach Programme is running an oral histories project called Blast from the Past. The aim of the project is to connect people around the world through material objects related to sports, games and play.

They are asking people to dig through their attics, family trunks and wardrobes to find objects (sport kits, souvenirs, photos, medals or magazines) that capture special memories related to sport, games and play. Send us a video of you speaking about your object or write a story and send us a photo!

Who can participate?
Anyone interested in anthropology, history and sport

How do I submit my story?
Send us a photo of your object with a description of max 100 words. Alternatively, send us a short video clip, max 1:30 sec.

Deadline for submission: 16th November 2011

Further details and submission forms can be found on our Discover Anthropology website