Food and Memory - 5th International Interdisciplinary Conference

Conference online

ABOUT THE CONFERENCE: 

Researchers have long confirmed the importance of studying food-related issues in the past and in the today's world. During our interdisciplinary conference, we are going to concentrate on the relationships between food and memory. In what sense – and in what circumstances – can food be regarded as an identity-forming factor? What role does it play in shaping our individual and collective memories? How can food studies deepen our knowledge on the social and cultural aspects of our lives? Why are food memories so often related to important experiences of individuals and societies?

            We would like to discuss these and many other questions from a broad perspective, referring to the anthropological, psychological, sociological, historical, and  aesthetic research on food and memory. That is why we invite researchers representing various academic fields: anthropology, history, psychology, psychoanalysis, psychiatry, sociology, political studies, philosophy, economics, law, memory studies, consciousness studies, literary studies, theatre studies, film studies, migration studies, gender studies, postcolonial studies, medical sciences, and cognitive sciences, to name a few.

            Different forms of presentations are encouraged, including case studies, theoretical inquiries, personal reflections, problem-oriented arguments, and comparative analyses.

            We will be happy to hear from both experienced scholars and young academics at the beginning of their careers, as well as doctoral and graduate students. We also invite all persons interested in participating in the conference as listeners, without giving a presentation.

Our repertoire of suggested topics includes but is not restricted to:

1. Individual experiences:

• Food memories

• Food and sensory memory

• Smell, taste and remembrance

• Individual food preferences

• Food and identity

• Veganism and ethical memory

• “You are what you eat”

• Food and emotions

• Food and affect

• Food and abjection

• Food and sickness

• Food and eating disorders

• Food and aging

• Food and mental health

• Food and the materiality of memory

• Food and nostalgia

• Food and trauma

• Food and ecstasy

• Food as epiphany

• Food in dreams

    2. Interpersonal experiences:

• Food and love

• Food and sex

• Food and caregiving

• Food and poisoning

• Food as a tool of communication

• Food and intergenerational memory

• Food and queer identities

• Recipes as memory practices

   3. Collective experiences:

• Food, memory and tradition

• Food habits

• Food ceremonies and rituals

• Food taboos

• Food and religions

• Food and language

• Food symbolism

• Food and cultural/social identity

• Food and migration crises

• Diasporic cuisines and belonging

• Food and displacement

• Food and war

• Food scarcity and survival

• Food and decolonization

• Colonial histories of food

• Culinary nationalisms

• Multicultural dimensions of contemporary cuisines

• Food and fashion

• Food and social status

• Food and inequalities

• Food and genocide

• Food waste and memory

• Food and sustainability

• Food and climate anxiety

• Pandemic food practices

• Food during COVID-19F

• Food and capitalism

4. Aesthetic experiences:

• Food and memory in literature, film, theatre and visuals arts

• Food-related literary and cinematic genres

• Cookbooks as autobiographical narratives

• Food in the media

• Food aesthetics in popular culture

• Concepts of good taste

• Food photography and memory

• Nostalgia marketing and food

5. Contemporary challenges and digital cultures:

• Digital food cultures

• Food and digital archives

• Food and social media

• Food influencers and online identity

• Food delivery culture

• Artificial intelligence and food cultures

• Food and bioethics

Please submit abstracts (no longer than 300 words) of your proposed 20-minute presentations, together with a short biographical note, by 25 July 2026 to:[email protected]