[Commlist] CFP: 2nd Biennial Conference on Food & Communication: discourses of the future of food

    The 2^nd  Biennial Conference on Food & Communication


    Discourses on the Future of Food


    Ljubljana, 23-25 September 2020


        *Keynote speaker*
        Prof. JOSÉE JOHNSTON

<https://foodcommunication.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b2a8d494c3bccffe5b04a201e&id=f1f6598507&e=d161f6580c>,
        University of Toronto



    Call for abstracts


    Abstract submission deadline is January 15th 2020!


*Food is a key means through which we construct and represent ourselves 
discursively. Food features as a powerful cultural signifier, often 
evoking associations with issues of gender, class, race and power. 
Food-related activities, such as grocery shopping, meal preparation, and 
eating, along with the public and private spaces in which these 
activities occur, provide the basis for many of our complex daily 
communicative practices. Food also is located at the core of many of the 
most challenging social issues of our time, often manifested in 
oppressive relations of inequality, and in the placement of food at the 
center of calls for social justice.**
***


      /We are witness to major changes in how the relationships between
      food systems and consumers are constructed discursively./


Not surprisingly, food has been an important focus of research across 
the humanities and social sciences, from history to sociology, cultural 
studies, political studies and beyond. This conference extends that 
focus by providing an international platform that foregrounds the role 
of communication in the production, distribution and consumption of 
food. The aim of the conference is to address discourses, texts and 
communication evolving in relation to both widespread dissatisfaction 
with existing food systems and to visions for a more sustainable and 
regenerative future of food.

Scholars are invited to explore the cultural and discursive construction 
of food. This may include analyses of political and policy texts on food 
sovereignty, and security, food safety and nutrition, food waste, 
sustainability and climate change; texts produced by the food industry, 
including advertising, packaging, labeling, menus, social media and 
other means of food marketing; consumer and media narratives on “the 
pleasures of the table”; and texts promoting gastronomic tourism, to 
name just a few.

Today, cumulative food-related crises and controversies have become 
central to ongoing attempts to address the health of the global 
population and the planet. As a result, we are witness to major changes 
in how the relationships between food systems and consumers are 
constructed discursively.


      /In response to these issues, scholars are welcome to explore
      narratives about the emergence of alternative solutions to, and
      new imaginaries about, the future of food./


1


        *Food as cultural signifier / text / medium, including food as:*

  * Expression of cultural identity
  * Cultural capital
  * Object of commodity activism
  * Expression of cultural appropriateness
  * Expression of cultural appropriation
  * Basis of ritual and community bonding

2


        *Representations of food, including:*

  * Journalistic and documentary coverage of the food and agricultural
    industries
  * Food as the focus of entertainment television (narrative cinema,
    reality TV, celebrity programs, etc.)
  * Food in social media
  * Commercial communication about food (advertising, PR, lobbying,
    industry narratives)
  * Political discourses (e.g., food safety, sovereignty, security;
    sustainability; regenerative agriculture; access to food; food
    deserts; animal welfare; etc.)
  * Scientific and technical communication

3


        Public knowledge (and lack of knowledge) about food, including:

  * Food literacy (health, nutrition, safety and risk, etc.)
  * Environmental impacts (e.g., waste, pollution, climate change)
  * Cultural origins, history, appropriation

4


        *The mediation of food activism:*

  * Communication for direct action (protest, demonstration, petition,
    boycott, etc.)
  * Commodity activism

5


        *Imaginaries about the future of food, including:*

  * New sources (e.g., insects, algae, in vitro meat)
  * Genetic engineering of plants and animals
  * Hydroponics
  * Aquaculture
  * Transparency, traceability, blockchain, etc.



    *Abstracts of 300-500 words and queries can be submitted to:*
    (foodandcommunication /at/ fdv.uni-lj.si)

    *Abstracts may also be submitted via the web page below where
    further information can be found.*
    www.foodcommunication.net


***

*Notifications of acceptance will be sent out in March 2020.*

***

*Associated costs Fee*
Fee for conference attendance is *120 EUR* and will cover the cost of 
food and drink during the conference plus materials.
An optional conference dinner costs *35 EUR *(three courses of local 
dishes and local wine). Dinner will take place on Thursday 
evening, September 24^th  2020 at Gostilna na Gradu 
<https://foodcommunication.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b2a8d494c3bccffe5b04a201e&id=8f7e60a312&e=d161f6580c>.

Travel and accommodation costs will need to be covered by participants 
themselves.

Dr. Andreja Vezovnik, University of Ljubljana, Chair of Local Committee 
(contact person)
Dr. Ana Tominc, Queen Margaret University Edinburgh, Chair of Program 
Committee


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