Fortieth Annual Adelphi History Conference: Food in History and the Social Sciences

The Adelphi University Department of History will hold its Fortieth Annual Conference for high school social studies and history teachers on Monday, April 22, 2013 in the University Center ballroom at its Garden City campus. This year, in conjunction with the choice of Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma as the Adelphi University campus reading, our topic is food.

The keynote talk, entitled “The Omnivore’s Dilemma: The Problem of Deliciousness in Sustainable Food Systems” will be given by Dr. Amy Bentley, Associate Professor of Food Studies at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Education. Professor Bentley is the author of numerous books and articles on food in American history, the topics of which range from masculinity and the Atkins diet to baby food. She has also received many awards for her scholarship and teaching.

Following Professor Bentley, the Adelphi history department’s own Dr. Michael LaCombe will chair a panel of Adelphi faculty who will introduce their own food-related research and offer some comments on its relevance to teaching. Dr. Douglas London (Anthropology) will present on the question “Is the Food Pyramid Really a Good Guide to a Healthy Diet? A Look at Ingredients beyond Standard Nutrients in Food.” Dr. London’s fieldwork and research on phytochemicals suggests that they play a much more important nutritional role than is commonly understood. Dr. Maggie Gray (Political Science) will talk on the subject of “Labor and the Locavore: New York State Farmworkers.” Dr. Gray’s presentation will discuss the conditions of workers within regional agriculture and why they have been largely excluded from the food movement’s conversations on sustainability. Dr. LaCombe will discuss “Recipes for Change: Cookbooks as Primary Sources.” Drawing from his research and teaching, Dr. LaCombe will examine the ways food can be simultaneously a marker of change and tradition, cultural resistance and assimilation.