Food Study Group
Introduction
The BSA Food Study Group joined forces with the Scottish Colloquium on Food and Feeding (SCOFF) in 1994. The group aims to encourage the sociological analysis, both theoretical and empirical, of all aspects of food production and consumption.
The Food Study Group holds hour long seminars and longer, themed, events throughout the UK. The aim is to provide a forum for stimulating debate amongst academics, practitioners and others interested or involved in social science research on food, diet and eating.
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The History of the BSA Food Study Group
Murcott, A. (2011). The BSA and the Emergence of a 'Sociology of Food': A Personal View. SociologicalResearchOnline 2011 16(3):14
In this paper, which is free to access, Professor Anne Murcott provides a personal view of the history of the BSA and the emergence of a nameable 'Sociology of Food'. Many thanks to Anne for writing this paper and for granting permission to signpost it here.
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Forthcoming Events
SCOFF is re-launching. We would like to invite proposals to host future events. Simply e-mail Andrea Tonner with your thoughts.
21 May 2012
Continuity and Change: Aspects of the Food Environment across the Life Course
Sheila Peace, John Percival, Faculty of Health & Social Care, The Open University; Martin Maguire, Colette Nicolle, Russ Marshall and Ruth Sims, Loughborough University Design School
The Library at Thomas Coram Research Unit, IOE, 27-28 Woburn Square, London WC1H 0AA.
Across the life course, the kitchen can be a central hub of activity. Long discussed as gendered space, in ageing populations the kitchen provides a perfect case study for addressing issues of person-environment interaction where age, gender, class, culture, health and well-being are central.
This paper reports on research involving social gerontologists, ergonomists and designers which studied ‘Transitions in Kitchen Living’ (TiKL) as part of the ESRC’s New Dynamics of Ageing Programme. The aim was to work with a purposive sample of people in their 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s living across the range of mainstream and supportive housing where the kitchen was still very much a part of everyday life. Following detailed pilot work, two interviews were conducted with 48 older participants (aged 61 to 91 years, born between 1919 and 1949) in Bristol and Loughborough. Prior to the first interview, people were asked to record a housing history and then using an oral history approach people’s experiences of kitchens throughout their lives were recorded prompted by key life events. A second Interview concerned their contemporary kitchen and how well it met their needs. Other tools gathered personal demographic details, routine activities, and photographs recorded aspects of the kitchen that were particularly liked or disliked.
This talk focuses on both the oral history data and the study of the contemporary kitchen to understand how issues of continuity and change throughout the 20th century as food equipment developed in diverse housing circumstances. For example early experience of cooking in a coal fired oven led to the coming of gas and electric cookers while ‘staying put’ for an older person may now depend on microwavable food.
Dr. Sheila Peace is Professor of Social Gerontology. A social geographer by first discipline, she gained her PhD in the area of environment and ageing now her area of expertise. She is co-editor of Ageing in Society: European perspectives in Gerontology, Sage Publications (2007).
All meetings are held on Mondays, starting with coffee at 11.30am and ending in time for a late lunch at a local restaurant. Seminars are free to attend but places are limited. Please contact Rebecca O’Connell for further details or to reserve a place. All meetings are held at the University of Westminster, Cavendish Campus.
2-3 July 2012
3rd BSA Food Study Group Conference: FOOD & SOCIETY
The British Library Conference Centre, London, UK
Please visit our Past Events page for further details of our activities.
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Annual Report
The Food Study Group Annual Report is now available.
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Joining the Group
Members receive regular e-newsletters and discounted rates for study group events. Students and non-academics are very welcome to join, along with academics and researchers from any discipline. The multi-disciplinary/ multi-sectoral nature of the membership promotes vibrant discussion and is encouraged. There is a joining fee of £46, waived for the unwaged and individuals who are already members of the BSA. To join, complete the Joining Form and email to Tess Baxter.
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Contact the Convenor(s)
Suggestions for speakers, venues and other events are always welcomed. Details of relevant books, events, news, funding and jobs can also be added to the website.
Tess Baxter
Send an email.
Rebecca O'Connell
Institute of Education
Send an email.
Andrea Tonner
University of Strathclyde
Send an email.
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Links to Relevant/Current Research
Food Stories is an interactive website, designed primarily for KS3 and KS4 citizenship and geography students. It traces the changes that have taken place in the UK's food culture over the last century. Students can play with colourful animations and listen to audio interviews from the British Library Sound Archive to investigate the ways in which food relates to identity, cultural diversity, the environment, technology, farming, shopping, travel and much more.
The Association for the Study of Food and Society is a multidisciplinary international organisation dedicated to exploring the complex relationships among food, culture, and society. The ASFS publishes a useful list of course outlines with bibliographies on topics relevant to the sociology of food, food anthropology, agriculture and society etc, which some members might find useful.
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