Conference online (via Zoom platform)
ABOUT CONFERENCE:
Researchers have long confirmed the importance of studying food-related issues in the past and in the present-day 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-building 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 esthetical research on food and memory. That is why we invite researchers representing various academic fields: anthropology, history, psychology, psychoanalysis, psychiatry, sociology, politics, 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 w 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:
Individual experiences:
1. 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: conferencememory@gmail.com
The conference language is English.
Note:
As our online conference will be international, we will consider the different time zones of our Participants.
The conference will be held virtually via Zoom. Different forms of presentations (also posters) are available