What’s Cooking is an update on all things related to CHEFS: the Culture, Health, Environment, Food and Society research cluster at Sheffield Hallam University. What’s been cooking since our last edition?
We had a great instalment of our Online Research Talks series in November, when Nino Bariola delivered a presentation on ‘Authenticity, legitimacy, and the racial politics of ceviche’ (10/11/21). Drawing on his doctoral research, and expanding beyond it (we can’t wait for the eventual monograph!), Nino discussed the legitimation and strategic ‘Japanization’ of cerviche over time, how Peruvian chefs have used cerviche to manage racialized forms of stigma, and how cerviche features in processes of cultural wealth generation. The recording of the talk is available on our Online Research Talks page, and is a fantastic resource if you’re teaching or writing on issues of food, national identity, culture, distinction, authenticity and more.
Two further online research talk sessions coming up, both focused on beer:
- Thursday 10 February, 3-4.30 on Zoom: ‘Craft Beer, Agility and Authenticity’ with presentations from Nadine Waehning (University of York Management School) and Andrey Sgorla (University of Siena). Titles and Abstracts to be confirmed.
- Week of 21 March (date/time to be confirmed) on Zoom: ‘Pubs, Alcohol and the Pandemic’ with presentations from Joanna Reynolds (Sheffield Hallam University) and Pallavi Singh (Sheffield Hallam University). Titles and Abstracts to be confirmed.
Full details are available on our Online Research Talks page.
We’ve also recently sent out the next round of invites for upcoming CHEFS monthly virtual research roundtables in January and May via the CHEFS JISC email list. Research roundtables are an informal chance to check in, share updates, trade suggestions, ask questions and bounce ideas around. No prep needed—just a chance to meet up and talk CHEFS for an hour. Thanks in advance to Jenny Paxman for hosting:
- Wednesday 12 January, 3-4pm
- Wednesday 4 May, 3-4pm
Please feel free to forward the invites to colleagues/PG students who might be interested in joining us. (Not joined the JISC list yet? See information on the very bottom of each CHEFS webpage. In the meantime, please email me directly (j.smith1@shu.ac.uk) if you’d like me to forward a meeting invite.)
Below, we have:
- updates on recent CHEFS members’ activities (including a new article on wine, and new research in collaboration with SHU student researchers);
- resources/calls for papers/conference announcements (including a call for session proposals on food geographies, and a new food poverty report);
- the usual call for contributions and content for the March 2022 edition of What’s Cooking.
Cheers,
Jen
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Recent CHEFS Activities
Jennifer Smith Maguire wrapped up the co-edited Routledge Handbook of Wine and Culture (now available for pre-order): a comprehensive, interdisciplinary overview of contemporary research and thinking on how wine fits into the cultural frameworks of production and consumption. Jen’s chapter in the Handbook, ‘Sociology, wine and culture,’ reviews how sociology helps with making sense of wine and culture, in terms of how wine and the ‘doing’ of wine are contingent outcomes of the social actions of multiple actors and organisations; how the cultural production and consumption of wine are shaped by discourses of legitimacy and processes of legitimation; and how taste (of and for) wine is bound up with culture. In December 2021, Jen also published a new article ‘Towards a sociology from wine and vina aperta’ in the Journal of Cultural Analysis and Social Change (open access, i.e. freely available to all). The article outlines a process sociological approach to conceptualizing wine as vina aperta: a multifarious, multifaceted, processual ‘thing’ that is constituted through intended and unintended outcomes of humans’ interdependent relations with the world, others, and themselves. The chapter and article are first steps in pulling together a decade’s worth of wine research into a monograph: the focus for Jen’s January-May 2022 sabbatical.
John Dunning successfully passed the Spanish Wine Scholar (SWS) examination in December. Congratulations to John!
John Dunning and Jennifer Smith Maguire were successful in their bid for Department of Service Sector Management fieldwork funding, to build on their previous research on wine gifting and cultural consumption. They’ll be working with two Sheffield Hallam student researchers (current MSc International Hospitality and Tourism Management student Rachel Robinson, and BSc Nutrition, Diet and Lifestyle graduate Samantha McCormick) to expand their existing sample of interviews with Chinese expat consumers, and generate a comparative data set via interviews with British consumers. They’ll be recruiting participants of varying levels of wine involvement for semi-structured interviews: if you’d like to be involved, please let Jen know (j.smith1@shu.ac.uk)!
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Resources/call for papers/conference announcements
Call for session proposals for the Food Geographies Research Group sessions at the 2022 RGS-IBG conference. Deadline 14 January 2022.
The Food Geographies Research Group (FGRG) invites Session Proposals for the RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2022 (to take place at Newcastle University, from Tuesday 30 August to Friday 2 September 2022, with a strong in-person element (COVID-19 restrictions permitting), and with hybrid and online ways to participate. Further details of the conference arrangements are given on the RGS website).
FGRG encourages and welcomes interesting Session Proposals that advance the sub-discipline, but priority will be given to sessions that speak directly to the conference theme: ‘Food Geographies of Recovery.’ The Group particularly welcomes sessions from ECRs or PhD students exploring areas within the food geographies field. We encourage and support interesting connections and engagements with other RGS-IBG research groups, where appropriate. Sessions may take the form of presented papers, panels, practitioner forums, discussions or workshops. Innovative sessions and formats are encouraged. Proposals should include: (i) Title of session; (ii) Name of Co-sponsoring groups, if applicable; (iii) Name and Contact Details for Session Convenors; (iv) Abstract, outlining scope of session – 200 words max; (v) Number of session timeslots that are sought; (vi) Indication of preferred organisation of session, e.g. 4 x 20min presentation, plus 20min discussion or 5 x 15min presentation, with 5min question for each, we welcome creative formats. Sessions last 1 hour 40 mins; (vii) whether you envisage an online, in-person or hybrid format. The deadline for proposals for FGRG sponsored sessions is Friday 14th January 2022. Proposals for, or questions about, FGRG sponsored sessions should be sent to Mark Stein, Food Geographies Research Group Conference Officer (markstein2010@live.co.uk ).
Empowering local action on Food Poverty: Key lessons from Food Power: new report that identifies 10 key lessons on developing food poverty alliances and action plans, with national recommendations for government and funders to lead to the real change needed to ensure everyone is able to access healthy, affordable, sustainable food. Download the full report and find more resources, including guidance for local authorities, case studies and webinars on the Food Power website.
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Call for content for the next edition of What’s Cooking
The next edition of What’s Cooking will be March 2022. Please send content (research updates, calls for expression of interest, relevant calls for papers/conference/event announcements) to j.smith1@shu.ac.uk by Monday 28 February.
CHEFS blog
Interested in writing a blog? These are usually 800-1200 words and written for a general audience in an informal style. Blogs can revisit work you’ve already done (e.g., highlighting a recent output/publication); discuss research or research-related activities (teaching, public engagement, etc.) that you are working on; offer your informed take on contemporary food/drink issues or policy; provide a profile on your research. If you’d like to contribute a piece, please get in touch with Jen (j.smith1@shu.ac.uk).
Want to stay updated? Follow us on Twitter (@SHU_CHEFS), subscribe to the blog and/or join our Jisc email list: see information on the very bottom of each CHEFS webpage.