The German Society for the History of Medicine, Natural Science, and Technology (DGGMNT), together with the German Society for the History of Technology (GTG) would like to invite papers and panels for their combined annual conference on the theme of:
Nutrition, Eating and Drinking in the History of Medicine, Science and Technology
Nutrition is a total phenomenon in history. Eating and drinking determine the everyday experience of every human being for their entire lives. Taking a meal at a specific times of day shapes the organization of daily routine and shapes the bodily rhythm of digestion and absorption of nutrients. At the same time, rhythms of work structure our eating rhythms. Food and rituals of eating and drinking have been
expressions of hybrid cultural activities since the earliest civilizations, where religion and science, culture and nature, ratio and emotio intersect and overlap.
The combined meeting of the DGGMT and GTG would like to approach this topic from the perspective of the history of science, technology and medicine. The organizers are seeking contributions that discuss the role of science and technology in the research, analysis, production, preservation, transport, distribution, consumption and disposal of foodstuffs. Besides exploring these more instrumental relationships
between science, technology and food, we are further interested in how eating and drinking habits have changed in the course of the scientification, mechanization, and industrialization of our food cultures, and the medical, scientific and dietetic debates that have shaped and/or criticized these processes.
The conference represents a forum for critical discussion of different disciplinary approaches as well as differing epochal points of emphasis. Contributions can explore themes such as Themenkreise, die untersucht werden können, sind z.B.:
• the relationship of body, nutrition and the scientific definition of health;
• the history of dietetics and the medical-philosophic al concepts of healthy eating and/or harmful substances and eating habits;
• discovery, production and consumption of ersatz foods, artificial flavours or flavour enhancers;
• the transfer of the logic of industrial systems to the production, distribution and consumption of foodstuffs and their consequences;
• Security and danger – the role of medicine, science and technology in the institutionalizatio n of trust in foodstuffs;
• development, implementation and consequences of packaging and preservation technologies.
• phases of scientific research, instruments and theories for determining, analysing and explaining the effects of nourishment in the human body (eg. energie and substance levels, holistic theories, etc.)
• scientific nutrition research within and between the fields of physiology, medicine, chemistry and physics;
• nutrition science and politics: food and nutrition in the context of colonization, totalitarian regimes, development aid and international (aid) organizations;
• political and ideological discourses of health or danger of specific foodstuffs of eating and drinking rituals;
• Causes and effects of historical cases of hunger or abundance;
• influence of scientification, mechanization, and industrialization on eating and drinking habits
Proposals for individual papers or panels of 3- 4 people (2 papers, 1 commentator and 1 chair, or 3 papers and 1 chair) are welcome. In putting together panels, please leave ample time for discussion (session times are set at 90 minutes in total).
Applications for individual papers should be accompanied by an abstract (1 page maximum) Proposals for panels should include individual abstracts plus a general description of the panel. Abstracts should be sent by 31 March 2010 to: PD Dr. Sabine Schleiermacher. Email: sabine.schleiermach er@charite. de
In addition, the GTG is putting together a poster forum for PhD candidates in the history of technology independent of the conference theme. Prizes will be awarded for the best presentations. Proposals for posters should be sent to Dr. Stefan Krebs (s.krebs@tue. nl) by 31 March 2010, who will provide further information on the process. A separate call for posters for this session will also be published.
Please quote 10 Academic Resources Daily in your application to this opportunity!
