Heather J. Sharkey, 'Food Studies: Surveying the Field through Potatoes'
Thursday 6 March 2025, 5pm - 6.30pm
Abstract: What is Food Studies, why and how is this interdisciplinary field flourishing, and what does it offer? I will address these questions through a case study of the potato, which migrated in the modern era from the Andean coast of South America to Europe and Africa before circulating widely in Asia. Viewing the potato through a micro-historical lens, I will consider Vincent Van Gogh’s 1885 oil painting, The Potato Eaters. This canvas, I will argue, can help us to see patterns of globalization and trade along with developments in agriculture; health and diet; art and cuisine, and more. It can also help us to appreciate the symbolic value of food as it bears upon religion, labor, class, and kinship. In sum, this study of potatoes and The Potato Eaters suggests some important reasons for the value and appeal of Food Studies: the field offers wide spaces for exploring human existence by following the “social lives” of relatable and often everyday things
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