March 5/10: "2010 Asian Footprints" conference on Japanese food

Our colleagues at the Munk Centre for International Studies Asian Institute, along with the Japan Foundation, the Consulate-General of Japan, and the Japan Information Centre, are presenting a conference on Japanese food. Read on...

Location: Vivian and David Campbell Conference Facility, University of Toronto, 1 Devonshire Place
Date and Time: Friday, March 5, 2010 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Website: www.utoronto.ca/ai/asianfoodprints
Register for conference: General admission $10, Student admission $5. Register here
Register for dinner: General admission $75, Student admission $65. Register here
Contact: asian.institute@utoronto.ca

The 2010 Asian Foodprints conference will focus on Japan and Japanese food. The aim of this event is to use Japanese food and its culinary traditions as windows to explore both continuities and change in Japanese society.

From Sanrio’s global merchandising of Kogepan, to saturated television programming in Japan about cuisine, to the cultural economy of fish and rice, food makes up the very social, political, and economic fabric of Japan. The globalization of sushi and the syndication of the Iron Chef model worldwide are a testament to the popular reach of Japanese food. And the several academic treatments of Japanese cuisine and food more generally are proof of their scholarly intrigue.

As such, this conference marries the popular with the academic. Indeed, as an important nexus between east and west, modern Japan has played a significant role in shaping global society, prompting ever more curiosity about the evolution of Japanese cuisine and food culture. In addition to a more “hands-on” perspective on Japanese food, the conference will feature three panel discussions about Food and Social Identity; Practicing Japanese Food Culture; and Food, Politics and Economy.