New Histories of Food and Drink

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Brief Description

There is a rich literature on the history of food and drink in Russia, Eastern Europe, and Eurasia, in a variety of languages. It includes public history -- the prefaces and annotations to collections of recipes, memoirs that link eating with personal experience – as well as academic studies, from books to blog posts. However, there has arguably been insufficient attention to the socio-economic, as opposed to political and cultural, aspects of history, and in particular, to areas such as institutions and corporations and their relationship with the state; the political weaponization of food production; marketing; food and social status; and everyday practices (particularly how the preparation and serving of food and drink inside and outside the home was shaped by state control, or on the other hand, its absence). This round table aims to address these areas, taking stock of extant research, but also to present new ideas and materials, so as to stimulate further discussion and debate.

Sub Unit

• Economic History/Economics/Business

Chair

• Catriona Helen Moncrieff Kelly, U of Cambridge (UK)

Roundtable Members

• Stephen Bittner, Sonoma State U

• Kristy Ironside, McGill U (Canada)

• Elena Kochetkova, U of Bergen (Norway)

• Susanne Alice Wengle, U of Notre Dame