CFP: FOOD! Gastronomic Discourse in Early Modern Europe

The Medici Archive Project writes (reposted from H-Net):

“Food provides an ideal starting point for bridging scholarly discourse between different fields of study and disciplines. It also provides an index of research possibilities and elaborate narrative paths that link together urban and rural contexts, the sophistication of the courts and the simplicity of the peasant table; botanical studies and agronomical practices; cookbooks and trade of exotic products; and diets and famines.

The organizers of this workshop (Maddalena Bellavitis and Alessio Assonitis) invite papers that address issues that can shed new light on aspects of daily life and culture in early modern Europe. Special attention will be given to new interdisciplinary research trajectories on any topic that can be connected with food, including: food acquisition, preservation, preparation, and presentation; descriptions of meals (including table decoration and service); specific dishes and notable ingredients; importation, cultivation and processing of new or exotic foodstuffs; restricted or ritualized food consumption, including fasting for religious or health reasons; popular beliefs regarding the special properties of foodstuffs; and gift-giving culture and global commerce. 

For this reason, we encourage submissions for presentation proposals from scholars working in the humanities, but also in the fields of agronomy, viticulture, social history, oral history, and technology.

To be considered, please send a single document in Microsoft Word, consisting of a one-page proposal for a 20-minute presentation of unpublished work, followed by a one-page curriculum vitae. Presentations will be in English. Applications may be sent to education@medici.org by 22 October 2022 (participants will be notified by October 22).

Contact Info:

Maddalena Bellavitis & Alessio Assonitis

Contact Email: education@medici.org

URL: http://www.medici.org”