Amsterdam Symposium on the History of Food 2020
Call for papers: Amsterdam Symposium on the History of Food 2020
On 13 and 14 November 2020, the 7th Amsterdam Symposium on the History of Food will take place in the Aula of the University of Amsterdam. This year’s topic is:
Food and the Environment: The Dynamic Relationship Between Food Practices and Nature
Ever since hunters and gatherers made the switch to sedentary forms of farming some 13,000 years ago, the way people produce and consume food has profoundly shaped the world in which we live. Although the idea of the ‘environment’ – which we now use to describe the scale and scope of this human impact on the planet – is a relatively modern concept, historians, archaeologists and ecologists have carefully traced the continual interconnectedness of food and the environment. Indeed, changes in dietary patterns have been intrinsically linked to climate change and demographics throughout history, and the question of how to feed a growing population has been at the centre of major developments in food production innovations from the Neolithic Revolution onwards.
The Symposium encourages scholars from all relevant fields of research to explore the continuing relevance of the interconnectedness of food history and environmental history. We invite abstracts for papers covering any topic related to the study of this theme including, but not limited to, the following:
• The history of environmental beliefs and movements
• The relationship between climate change and food production and consumption
• The impact of exploitation colonialism on the environment
• Adverse consequences of intensive food production
• Sustainable food systems in history
• The interdependence of landscapes and cuisines
• Technological innovations related to agricultural growth and achieving food security
• The historiography of environmental history
The deadline for submission of abstracts is 1 April 2020 to foodhistory-ub@uva.nl.
