University of California Press is proud to announce that Gastronomica, a leading food studies journal, has just published the first issue under new leadership – an editorial collective of food scholars from around the world who represent numerous scholarly disciplines and perspectives. This issue (19.2) explores what our collective and contributing authors have imagined is what’s new and what’s next in food studies—it reflects tremendous changes since the beginning of the field, as well as the future of a multidisciplinary field that depends on academic and public engagement.
Gastronomica represents the space where the breadth of academic scholarship on food cultures meets a public that is increasingly interested in questions of food, gastronomy, and the culinary arts. With a long history of accessible scholarship, exceptional production values, and varied, long-form writing, Gastronomica is uniquely positioned to enable food scholars to interact with our profession and the public.
For this issue, we highlight ‘New Voices’ (including young scholars, dedicated activists, and varied artists) to identify exciting new areas of inquiry, methods, forms of presentation, and approaches. Compelling pieces include Leigh Chavez-Bush’s investigation of the new digital mediascape of food culture and fame, and how it has transformed what it means to be a chef today. And as China intensifies government scrutiny of ethnic minorities, Rick Halpern’s images of a Muslim market in Xi’an prompts us to consider the potential and pitfalls of street photography.
Editorial Collective co-chairs Daniel Bender, Simone Cinotto and Amy Trubek agree that the engaged collaboration of the new collective allows for an expansive vision and creative offerings. They also acknowledge that “we are new eggs in a basket – that new lifehatches from old. As we consider the future of the study of food, we turned to our two ‘editors emeriti’ – Darra Goldstein and Melissa Caldwell – and asked them to share their stories. The new Gastronomica emerges from their efforts.” Almost two decades since it was founded, Gastronomicais poised to be the leader in the ever-expanding field of food studies, a must read for scholars, food practitioners, food activists and the general public. “As a field,” notes Dan Bender, “the study of food in universities, colleges, cooking schools, and secondary schools recognizes the vital connections to what is happening in fields, kitchens, markets, and food factories. Gastronomica is a crucial place where essential and open conversations about the past, present, and future of food can happen.” Those conversations begin with this issue, highlighting new voices in the study of food, and continues with the next issue: a provocative special issue about “saving food” – the ways we seek to preserve food (as both ingredients and as traditions) and as well look to food for personal and community salvation.
To learn more about Gastronomica, go to our website, www.gastronomica.org, where you can find details on how to submit and subscribe for print or digital access to the journal. You can also follow the journal on Twitter at @gastronomica, on Instagram at @gastronomica_food_studies or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Gastronomica.
FoodAnthropology 