Articles – Gastronomica

“Translating the Foods of the World” – A Call for Translations and Reflections on Translating the Worlds of Food

July 21, 2021July 22, 2021Gastronomica

Gastronomica is pleased to introduce a new journal section with an exclusive focus on translation(s).

Even recipes written in English a century ago need contextualization (if not actual translation of now-obsolete words and/or ingredients) for readers today. Such a task is even more complicated when it comes to translating and adapting centuries-old works from other languages into English, be they cookbooks, primers to survive famine or to cook with rationed foods, guides to “healthy” eating, or similar texts. Despite these challenges, making such primary sources more accessible to students and researchers around the world is critical to stimulating and maintaining the growth of diverse voices in global food studies.

We therefore invite submission of

translations into English of key culinary texts originally written in any language (though currently not available in English), and from all regions of the world. Translations can be of entire texts, or part(s) thereof with critical commentary;
essays reflecting on the challenges and opportunities relating to such translations (for example, the need to develop new vocabularies to express indigenous concepts; how translators engage with historical non-English texts like recipes that may assume more information and insight than they provide, and how culinary terminology has changed over time in tandem with other historical developments and shifts);
collaborative works featuring two or more scholars in dialogue about a specific translation, and/or (but not limited to) any of the issues outlined above.

We envision clustering translations and other accepted submissions thematically or geographically, with an introduction by one or more contributors, or other invited subject-matter experts.

Essays or translations (with introductions, reference lists, and notes) should be between 4000-8000 words, and should be submitted via the journal’s ScholarOne platform and should otherwise follow the submission guidelines for Scholarly Submissions.

*Please note that we continue to invite all other forms of Scholarly and Food Phenomena submissions, including creative visual works such as photo essays (see art submission guidelines here), and pieces with a focus on food, justice and activism.

Podcast Dispatches from Issue 21.2: Eric Funabashi

May 24, 2021May 24, 2021Gastronomica

For our fifth series of podcasts produced in collaboration with Meant to Be Eaten on Heritage Radio Network, we sit down (virtually) with authors who have contributed to our recently published second issue of 2021, featuring articles on topics including commensality and creative collaboration, the politics of food systems, and race and representation.

In this episode, Editorial Collective member Bob Valgenti welcomes Eric Funabashi to discuss culinary experiences in Brazil following the initial migration of Japanese workers to São Paulo’s coffee farms in 1908 (as he explores in his recently published article, “Japanese Immigrants’ Pantry: Creating Eating Habits and Identities with Brazilian Ingredients”). Drawing on published cookbooks and immigrants’ private diaries, Funabashi shows how Japanese immigrants forged new culinary practices and identities in Brazil over the course of the 20th century.

Podcast Dispatches from Issue 21.2: Alison Hope Alkon & Rafi Grosglik

May 11, 2021May 11, 2021Gastronomica

For this episode, Editorial Collective member Krishnendu Ray welcomes co-authors of “Eating (with) the Other: Race in American Food Television “ Alison Hope Alkon and Rafi Grosglik to discuss representations of race in North American food media. Drawing on examples from contemporary popular culture (specifically Marcus Samuelsson and the late Anthony Bourdain), they explore how the medium of television engages with racial inequalities and how it could act as a critical intervention for social change.

Rafi Grosglik

Podcast Dispatches from Issue 21.2: Rob Connoley

May 3, 2021May 10, 2021Gastronomica

For our fifth series of podcasts produced in collaboration with Meant to Be Eaten on Heritage Radio Network, we sit down (virtually) with authors who have contributed to our upcoming second issue of 2021, featuring articles on topics including commensality and creative collaboration, the politics of food systems, and race and representation.

For this inaugural episode of our Summer 2021 season, Editorial Collective member Daniel Bender welcomes chef Rob Connoley to discuss culinary collaboration and the roots of Ozark cuisine at his research-driven restaurant, Bulrush. Drawing on his experiences of shared knowledge creation with a range of local academic and culture partners, Connoley helps bring place-based storytelling to the forefront of culinary creation.

Podcast Dispatches from Issue 21.1: Amy Bentley

February 22, 2021May 10, 2021Gastronomica

For our fourth series of podcasts produced in collaboration with Meant to Be Eaten on Heritage Radio Network, we sit down (virtually) with authors who have contributed to our upcoming first issue of 2021, which continues to feature COVID-19 Dispatches, but also original research articles around the themes of the relationship between food, power and politics, cultivating relationships, and sustaining memories.

For this last episode of our current season, historian Amy Bentley returns to the show to discuss the politics of food and nutrition with Editorial Collective member Melissa Fuster. She traces how the Reagan administration 40 years ago shifted (deliberately or inadvertently) the classification of ketchup from a condiment to a vegetable in an effort to overhaul national school lunch programs and cut government costs, a move that disproportionately affected the health of lower-income children.