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