Please join on 14 December 2021, 9:30-11:00am EDT (Toronto time) for a special roundtable Translating the Foods of the World hosted by Gastronomica: The Journal for Food Studies, the Culinaria Research Centre, University of Toronto, and the Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas.
Please note that this event will be held online. Please register using this EventBrite link to receive the event Zoom link.
This roundtable features:
Miranda Brown
Saumya Gupta
Eric C. Rath
Krishnendu Ray (host)
Robert Valgenti
Translating the food world is critical to stimulating and maintaining the growth of diverse voices in global food studies. This roundtable considers the challenges and opportunities of translating food. This year, the Gastronomica Editorial Collective launched a new section of the journal devoted to translations of culinary writings. We hope this will not only provide first-time access to essential food texts originally composed in other languages but also initiate a conversation about the process of translating that sheds light on the strategies needed to convert food writings created in a specific cultural historical setting into accessible English. Another goal is to increase recognition for the labors of the translator to encourage more people to introduce foreign language culinary works to English readers.
What does it mean to translate food texts? What are the challenges and opportunities relating to such translations? How must translators develop new vocabularies to express Indigenous concepts? How do translators engage with historical non-English texts like recipes that may assume more information and insight than they provide, and how has culinary terminology changed over time in tandem with other historical developments?
What does it mean to translate food and culinary knowledge? How do we all translate food in everyday ways, through oral transmission, adaptation, food experiences, etc.? How are oral traditions translated into text? How should translators consider their audience, including those seeking culinary application?
For more on Gastronomica’s call for submission on food translations, see: https://gastronomica.org/ and https://online.ucpress.edu/gastronomica/article/21/4/51/118892/Toward-Translating-the-Foods-of-the-World-A
For more on the Culinaria Research Centre and its upcoming events, see: https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/culinaria/food-studies-university-toronto
For more on the Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas and its upcoming events, see: