Culture, Food, and Literature in the New Millennium (Hybrid)

March 25-26, 2026

School of Liberal Arts

University of Management and Technology, Lahore

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Food has always served as a storyteller across cultures, carrying recollection of memories, traces of journey and nuggets of history. The art of culinary and cuisine has shifted its expression rapidly with time not just on the menu, but in media, literature and as an emerging wave of cultural globalization. Food evokes a sense of place or heritage among people beyond linguistic and cultural boundaries. Culinary traditions - beyond domestic, regional and diasporic spaces - have shaped not just the kitchens but also literature, media and cultural imagination over time. In many societies, food as a culinary heritage is highly and deeply entangled with festivals, rituals and regional identities becoming a site of intersection for personal and collective histories. 

In the twenty-first century, a new wave of global gastronomic rendezvous has transformed both culinary customs and literary imaginations under the growing visibility of diverse culinary cultures. Chinese, Japanese and Korean food traditions - each with their own philosophies of preparation, presentation, and seasonality - have travelled widely, influencing restaurant cultures and home kitchens around the world. Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi and Nepali cuisines, with their regional variations and spice traditions, continue to inspire reimaginings across diasporic communities in Europe, North America and Southeast Asia. The culinary landscape of the United States, already shaped by centuries of immigration, has further absorbed these global flavours, producing fusion cuisines that speak to new identities. This fusion is not merely a culinary fad, but it also symbolically highlights and inspires the idea of global culinary cultural exchange beyond sharing, adapting and reimagining recipes, introducing new olfactory and gustatory memories in hybrid cultural spaces. Transcultural culinary representations in literature, digital media and popular culture have strongly shaped the development of food narratives, memoirs and fictional works particularly focusing on migration, identity, sensory memory, class, gender and politics of taste and smell. 

We welcome submissions that explore how food, memory, and cultural exchange continue to shape contemporary South Asian and global identities. Students are encouraged to reflect on the many ways culinary practices intersect with literature, media, migration, popular culture, and everyday life. Whether approached through creative, critical, or interdisciplinary lenses, the symposium aims to bring together original thinking that highlights the transformative role of food in storytelling, cultural expression, and social imagination.

• Symposium will be held in hybrid mode
• Online presenters will be provided technical access and guidelines
• In-person presenters will receive venue and schedule instructions
• Each session will include a moderated Q&A
• Upon acceptance, all participants are required to pay a registration fee of PKR 3,000 (local participants) and USD 30 (international participants).
• Online and hybrid participation guidelines will be shared after acceptance.
• Certificates will be awarded to all presenters, participants and artists.

Note: Selected outstanding submissions will receive publication opportunities. High-quality research papers may be considered for peer review in Linguistics and Literature Review or Journal of Communication and Cultural Trends, while exceptional critical essays or creative-critical works may be invited for publication in The Literary Fulcrum.

Eligibility

• Undergraduate and graduate students (BS, MPhil, PhD)
• Independent scholars and culinary artists working with food narratives or gastronomic practices
• Participants from any discipline are welcome, provided the submission aligns with the symposium themes

Themes

• Cross-cultural influences in contemporary food practices (China, Japan, Korea, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, USA or any other country)
• Food memoirs, culinary essays and literary representations
• Recipes and rituals as markers of regional, national or diasporic identity
• Food, nostalgia and storytelling in migrant communities
• Social media food trends, digital cookbooks as new literary forms
• Virtual food aesthetics, photography and digital gastronomy
• Representation of global cuisines in K-drama, anime, film and fiction

Submission Guidelines

Participants may submit proposals in any of the following formats:

1. Individual Paper Presentation

• 10-12 minutes presentation
• Suitable for research papers, critical essays, cultural analyses, or interdisciplinary studies
• Abstract: 200-250 words
• Include: 3-5 keywords, author name, institutional affiliation, email, and a brief bio (50-70 words)

2. Creative/Culinary Submission

• Food memoirs, creative nonfiction, culinary essays, recipe narratives, or hybrid creative-critical work
• Abstract/description: 150-200 words
• If submitting a recipe narrative, include both the cultural context and its significance

3. Visual/Digital Presentation

• Photo essays, digital food narratives, social media analyses, or gastronomy-related visual projects
• Submit a 150-word proposal describing the project
• Selected participants may share visuals during the session

4. Short Demonstration or Talk by Culinary Artists

• 8-10 minutes demonstration/talk
• Proposal: 150-200 words explaining theme relevance, cultural context, and intended outcomes

5. Panel Discussion (Thematic Panel)

Participants may collaborate to submit a panel proposal consisting of 3 presenters whose topics align under a shared theme. A panel proposal must include:

• A 200–250 word panel abstract outlining the theme
• Individual abstracts (150–200 words each) for all presenters
• Names, affiliations, and brief bios of each participant
• A designated panel chair (student or faculty) Panels are ideal for research projects that intersect in theoretical questions, regional focus, or thematic concerns.

6. Roundtable Discussion

Roundtables offer a conversational, multi-voice format suitable for the interdisciplinary topics. A roundtable proposal should include:

• A 150–200 word proposal describing the central question or theme
• Names and brief bios of 4–6 participants
• Key points or perspectives each participant intends to bring Roundtables encourage open dialogue, comparative approaches, culinary storytelling, or reflective conversations.

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION — CLICK HERE

Important Dates

Deadline of Submission: January 15, 2026

Decision: January 20, 2026

Symposium: March 25-26, 2026

Organizer and Focal Person: Dr Muhammad Numan (Assistant Professor, DELS, SLA)

Chair: Prof Dr Nadia Anwar (Dean, SLA)

Patron: Prof Dr Asghar Zaidi (Provost, UMT)

Organized by

School of Liberal Arts, University of Management and Technology, Lahore

in collaboration with

Higher Education Commission, Pakistan

For any queries: muhammad.nauman@umt.edu.pk