Call for Papers: Cross Pollination and Cultivation of Food Systems, Cultures and Methods

Posted by on January 25, 2010

Food in Bloom: Cross Pollination and Cultivation of Food Systems, Cultures and Methods

The Twelfth Annual Joint Annual Meeting
of the
Association for the Study of Food and Society (ASFS)
Agriculture, Food and Human Values Society (AFHVS)
with
the Society for the Anthropology of Food and Nutrition (SAFN)

June 2 to June 6, 2010
Hosted by Indiana University, Bloomington, IN

Organizer and Local Arrangements:
Richard Wilk, Indiana University  [email protected]

Program Committee Chairs:
Beth Forrest,  Culinary Institute of America  [email protected]  and
Alice Julier, Chatham University  [email protected]

Society for the Anthropology of Food and Nutrition:
Janet Chrzan, University of Pennsylvania  [email protected]

From when seeds are first planted in the ground, many factors affect a harvest.   Food systems are shaped by everything from the weather and the soil to equipment, human skills, and social interventions from community rules, governments, migrations, and strife. Likewise, after harvest, the distribution, preparation, and consumption of foodstuffs are all by individuals acting according to cultural and social expectations. Thus, it can be said that food is cross pollinated by ion of ideas and conceptions all the way through the agriculture and food system. A similar cross pollination also characterizes agriculture and food studies as intellectual domains.   Food is inherently cross-disciplinary, requiring scholarly flexibility and integration.  Our research and writing becomes more robust by manifesting cross pollination  of  theories and methods.  Furthermore, students of food must recognize the complex nexus of material and social components that make food, like sex, uniquely interesting. Expanding and embracing the practical, everyday aspects of food systems nourishes the field and leads to new methodological and ethical questions with broader applicability.  As Anthropologist Mary Douglas asserted, “a radical approach to food’s place in civilization would require the whole range of food’s social uses to be considered.”   For this conference, we call for papers that span and cross the sciences, humanities, and social sciences, while also taking the practical knowledge of food system citizens seriously.

The conference seeks to celebrate the interconnectedness of food studies and to promote the understanding of food and agriculture.  Although our organizations encourage a broad spectrum of topics at our conferences, we are enthusiastically encouraging papers and sessions that speak directly to the theme. We also encourage full panel submissions and roundtable sessions on all topics related to the social, cultural, political, and ethical organization of food and agriculture.

* The Cultivation & Sustainability of Food Systems
* Issues of Boundary Crossing: Migration, Globalization, Interpretation; Class, Gender, Race
* The Inter-connectedness of Agriculture, Food, & Pedagogy

We welcome abstracts for papers, posters, and panels on all aspects of food, nutrition, and agriculture, including those related to:

Art, media, and literary analyses
Change & development
Culture & cultural geography
Ethics & philosophy
Food safety & risk
Gender and ethnicity
Globalization of agriculture and food
History
Inequality, access, security, & social justice
Knowledge
Local food systems
Pedagogy
Politics, policies, & governance in national & global contexts
Research methods, practices & issues
Social action & social movements
Sustainability
Science & technologies

Conference Location
Indiana University, located in the college town of Bloomington, amid rolling hills of southern Indiana, is the ideal place for our conference. Consistently voted as among the most beautiful campuses in the USA, it boasts natural resources, [high?] culture, an impressive art museum, an array of musical events (including opera, symphonic, bluegrass), a Tibetan monastery and a thriving regional food scene.  The campus, less than an hour from the Indianapolis International airport, is reached by a scheduled shuttle bus.  Accommodations range from thrifty dorm rooms to local hotels and charming B&Bs. The conference will be held on the university campus, keeping with our tradition of reasonable registration fees.

Tours, Tastings and Other Local Events
Several tours will be organized to showcase the best local connections to food and agriculture. These will include excursions to wineries, organic farms, Amish communities, a thriving farmers market, as well as an amazing variety of ethnic restaurants and an enthusiastic campus community.

Procedures for Submitting Abstracts for Papers, Panels, or Events

DUE DATE: February 1, 2010

TYPES OF SESSIONS: Submissions may include proposals for (1) individual papers, (2) full panels (between 3-4 papers on a theme) roundtables  (informal presentations or discussions with multiple participants), or (3) events (for example: films, readings)may be proposed.

FORMAT: Abstracts only. Electronic submission.   Abstracts – please name the document as follows: with lead author’s last name  and ASFS in the title (ex: julierASFS.doc). If the submission is a panel or a roundtable, please include the word in the title (ex: julierASFSpanel.doc or julierASFSroundtable.doc)

Submissions may be in Word, WordPerfect, or RTF formats All proposals should include, in this order: (1) type of submission (e.g., paper, panel, or event); (2) title; (3) submitter’s name, organizational affiliation, and full mailing address; (4) submitter’s e-mail address; (5) submitter’s telephone number, (6) names and organizational affiliations of co-authors or co-organizers; and (7) abstract of 300 or fewer words that describes the proposed paper, panel, or event. Panel proposals should include a panel abstract and individual abstracts for each of the papers on the panel as well as contact information (name, affiliation, email) of the moderator and all panel members. Individual paper proposals and roundtable proposals should be a single abstract with names and contact information for all presenters.

SUBMISSION  Please send  abstract electronically to: [email protected]. For questions or concerns, please contact Beth Forrest: [email protected]

ACKNOWLEGEMENT AND NOTIFICATION: All proposals sent by e-mail will be acknowledged within one week of receipt.  Notification of status of proposals will be sent by February 20th. We regret that our peer review process does not enable us to provide critique, only “accept” or “not accept” status.  We reserve the right to limit multiple submissions by the same author.

STUDENT PAPER COMPETITIONS: To encourage participation by undergraduate and graduate students and to recognize excellence, both ASFS and AFHVS invite submissions to their student paper competitions. Participants are encouraged to submit abstracts to the conference as well. Information for both competitions appears below. Please note that a paper may be submitted to only one, not both, of the competitions. For more information, please see: http://www.food-culture.org (ASFS) and http://www.afhvs.org for more information on deadlines and submission guidelines.

ASFS Student Paper Committee: Riki Saltzman, [email protected]

AFHVS Student Paper Contact: Richard Haynes  [email protected]