On behalf of Ester Võsu (ester.vosu@ut.ee):
Call for papers: “Recollecting and mediating food culture” in Estonian National Museum, April 11-12, 2011
In April 11–12, 2011 the conference “Recollecting and mediating food culture: Individual and institutional perspectives”will take place, held in cooperation with the Estonian National Museum and the Centre of Excellence in Cultural Theory. The conference will be focused on individual as well as institutional practices of remembering and mediating food culture.
Food culture has been an important part of national and regional heritage, and thus has not just economic, but also political importance. From the beginning of this century, public discussion concerning the definition one’s identity through a culinary past has become increasingly heated in Estonia, as well as in other European countries. Concurrently, new possibilities for making food traditions more attractive in the contemporary sense are searched for on state, entrepreneurial, and individual levels, and because of this tourists as well as local inhabitants are encouraged to consume and to evaluate gastronomic achievements.
One of the roles of the National Museum is to function as an institution of national culinary memory and to engage in collecting and preserving the past of the food culture and to mediate and display food-related materiality and knowledge to the society. In addition, there are many other institutions in the society (teaching and scholarly institutions, food producers, restaurants, nongovernmental organisations etc.) that are engaged in mediating food culture in one way or another. These institutions are constantly recreating food-related knowledge, as well as what actually gets on our plates. No doubt one cannot underestimate the role of particular individuals in living and developing traditions of food culture and culinary identities in their everyday cooking practices and interpretations.
Papers with both academic and practical orientation, treating the past and the present of food culture, and focusing on the knowledge and practice of remembering, evaluating, preparing and serving food, are expected to the conference.
Important information:
– Conference takes place in Tartu at the Exhibition House of the Estonian National Museum, in April 11th–12th 2011.
– Conference takes place in both Estonian and English languages. You can submit your abstract either in Estonian or English. Simultaneous translation is provided at the conference
Deadline for submitting the preliminary abstract is February 1th, 2011. The length of the abstract is 250–300 words. Please also include your contact information and institutional affiliation (name, profession, employer, e-mail address).
– Notification of acceptance of your abstract: February 10th, 2011.
– Deadline for extended abstracts: March 11th 2011 (1600–2000 words).
The selected presentations are published in the Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics (2011, Vol. 5). The full texts of the pre-reviewed journal are available in the International database at www.ceeol.com. The journal is indexed by the Anthropological Index Online.
– Participation at the conference is free of charge.
– Registration online: www.erm.ee/2011enm
Conference team:
Pille Runnel, research director, Estonian National Museum – pille.runnel@erm.ee
Terje Anepaio, researcher, Estonian National Museum – terje.anepaio@erm.ee
Ester Võsu, researcher, Institute of Cultural Research and Fine Arts, University of Tartu / Centre of Excellence in Cultural Theory – ester.vosu@ut.ee
Conference Secretary:
Agnes Aljas – agnes.aljas@erm.ee
Conference is supported by:
Estonian National Museum www.erm.ee
European Union Regional Development Fund (Centre of Excellence in Cultural Theory) www.ut.ee/CECT)
Respatrimoni 