Location
University of Exeter
West of England and South Wales Women’s History Network 32nd Annual Conference
Historical Perspectives on Women and Food
Saturday, 11th October 2025 | 10 am to 5 pm | University of Exeter
Call for Contributors, deadline – 24 May 2025
Keynote Speaker: Polly Russell, Food historian and curator at the British Library
This one-day conference will focus on women’s contribution to all aspects of food production and consumption in both material and cultural forms. Themes could include but are not limited to:
- Women as consumers and sellers of food
- Food production and preparation – agricultural, domestic, commercial and industrial
- Food and gendered education in schools and colleges
- Food marketing, businesses and advertising
- Food service both in the home and in commercial outlets e.g. restaurants, hotels, bars
- Food campaigns e.g. bread riots, wartime food rationing
- Food cultures, traditions and inheritance
- Food writing including memoirs, etiquette and recipe books
- Food and celebrity culture
- Food and the arts – e.g., in painting, film, drama and TV
- Food and famine
We welcome presentations in a range of formats including illustrated short papers/talks, posters, films, panels of speakers on a specific theme, food research projects and work in progress. All contributions must have a historical focus.
Please send a short summary of your proposed contribution (150 – 200 words) to Jane Howells: howellsjane2148@gmail.com by the 24th May 2025
For information on previous conferences please visit http://weswwomenshistorynetwork.co.uk