Due date extended...

Food has always had meaning. In terms of literary analysis, food has a symbolic and culturally significant meaning. Historically speaking however, studies about food have traditionally been connected to disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, and history but recent shifts in literary and cultural thought, food studies have widened to include disciplines such as English, World Languages, Art, Film studies, etc.

The Department of English, World Languages and Philosophy, in conjunction with the 3rd Annual BJT Interdisciplinary Symposium, is seeking proposals for food demonstrations, scholarly conference papers, panel presentations, poster board presentations, artwork, etc. that answer the following question: what role food play in creating literature, culture, social thought, films, etc. Also, how does food help to portray and/or examine race, gender, self-exploration, political thought, etc.

Other topics to consider:

• Healing power of food
• Food and story telling
• Food and cultural issues of acceptance
• Food and resistance
• Food and TikTok mania
• Food and preservation of culture
• Food and survival
• Food and emotions
• Food and narrative history
• Food and power
• Food deserts
• Food in times of crisis (in literature/film)
• Food as it is represented in art, media, and visual culture  
• Food Ownership and cultural theft
• Any other topics that bridge the gap between food, media arts, a culture

Send abstracts for scholarly conference papers (200-400 words), poster board proposals, poems (between 3 and 4 selections), and fashion samples via email to  Iris.Lancaster@tsu.edu or Michon.Benson@tsu.edu on or before January 14th 2022. Notifications will be sent to all prospective speakers no later than February 1. 2023. The final program will be published in March 2023. Please note—while the organizers are planning on hosting the event on-site, a small number of virtual presentations will be accepted.