Friday, January 30, 2009

BETUMIblog in top 100; May Panel on African Cuisine/Foodways/Food History


I received word today that BETUMIblog has been listed as one of the 100 Best Blogs for Learning About Africa. It's thrilling to be included in this impressive list.

Also, I just realized I never mentioned here a special panel being organized on African cuisine/foodways/food history at this year's annual joint meeting of the Association for the Study of Food and Society (ASFS) and the Agriculture, Food and Human Values Society (AFHVS) to be held at Penn State University (Pennsylvania, United States) May 28-31. While abstracts for the conference are due February 2, 2009, it is possible to consider those arriving within a few days of the deadline--just let me know to expect it. More information about the conference and submission procedures are available at http://www.afhvs.org/2009mtg.html. Please forward abstracts for consideration to Fran Osseo-Asare . This is a wonderful, all-too-rare opportunity for us to have some face-to-face conversations, and folks from as far away as the U.K. and Cameroon are making plans to attend.

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"Eating African: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on African cuisines"

Africa, especially sub-Saharan Africa, has long been marginalized in world culinary literature. There have been few positive attempts to approach African food culture from a "culinary" perspective. This session will broaden the topic of "food in Africa" beyond questions of food insecurity, failing markets, poverty and health deficits to consider African food in the arts, history, popular culture, and gastronomy.

Possible topics might include, but are not limited to, changes in diet or food processing technologies, food and national or ethnic identities, food as portrayed in popular culture or literature or other media, dining etiquette and utensils, or the history and role of specific ingredients, “classic dishes,” or flavor principles.

Abstracts which can not be included in this special session will be forwarded to the conference program organizer as general conference abstract submissions.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Congrats on the blogroll- isn't BetumiBlog the only site listed that writes about food culture?

And let us know when you have the final panel lined up! sounds exciting

Anonymous said...

i need a banbara translator. can you help me?

dianneql@gmail.com

Fran said...

Offhand, no, I'm afraid. Unless someone who sees this post happens to respond. Where is the work from? Perhaps you can find a student from there at a university, or contact an embassy.

Here, There, Elsewhere... and more said...

Brava! This is sounds exciting...keep up the great work..:)

Here, There, Elsewhere... and more said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Mrs.O said...

This awesome, you have done us proud.

Fran said...

Thank you for the kind words, Mjay.

Unknown said...

Hello,I too have recently come accross your blog and I am a former member of IACP.Through doing research for my soon to open so called "Contemporary Pan-African" Restaurant featuring the foods,flavors,cultures of the Atlantic Rim(Basically the journey of my ancestors and the different cultures,ingredients,and travels that they incounterd.)Anyhow I love your site and it has given me insight (About that there is no such thing as African Cuisine much less Pan-African Cuisine.

My objective is to do whatever i can to showcase the foods of the Motherland and to tell the story of those who were forced into slavery and how their stories can be seen all the way from the West Africian Coast to both North and South America to the Caribbean.I hope that we will someday meet since at the restaurant I want to start a gastovacation program.God Bless.