Apologies for Cross-posting,
Kirsty
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CALL FOR PAPERS
Volume XXI (2005)
of MONOGRAPHIC REVIEW/REVISTA MONOGRÁFICA
will treat the theme of
FEASTING, FASTING AND GASTRONOMY:
FOOD AND ITS USES IN HISPANIC LITERATURE
Food?its availability or lack thereof?drives prehistoric man’s mass
migrations, determines the locations of cities and trade routes, often
explains mass extinctions and the disappearance of untold early
civilizations. Food appears in innumerable myths, legends, folk tales,
songs, and other oral literature; it is prominent in the earliest written
record and its graphic precursors (petroglyphs, cave paintings) and found
in the best-preserved early burials (Egyptian pyramids, etc). From its
centrality to creation myths and the account in Genesis of humanity’s
temptation, fall, and expulsion from the Garden of Eden as well as its
symbolic role in access to Knowledge of Good and Evil, food has played
countless decisive roles in history. Often revered in early cultures, with
deities representing crops and harvests and important foodstuffs, food
appears prominently in religious rituals, tribal ceremonies and national
solemnities, social and familial celebrations, and its ubiquity in
individual and collective existence translates into recurring literary
appearances throughout the centuries. As an agent in history, food (or
deprivation thereof) becomes a weapon in sieges and blockades, deciding
battles and wars, while voluntary abstinence can signify saintliness or
obtain political leverage in contemporary hunger strikes. From its
prominence in the biblical account of the wedding feast at Cana and the
miracles of the loaves and fishes, to its sacramental role in Christian
communion, the symbolism of bread and wine as represented in autos
sacramentales and numerous milagros looms large in Spanish medieval
literature and continues as only slightly less apparent in subsequent
centuries. From prehistory onward, food has had connections with the
culture of excess, as exemplified in classical bacchanalian orgies,
medieval feasting and the identification of gluttony among the deadly
vices, its centrality to both Carnival and Lent, Rabelaisian portrayals of
Gargantuan feats of over-consumption, and the contemporary pandemic of
obesity. Literature sacred and profane, popular and belle-letristic, seldom
omits all reminiscence of food and its rituals. Often associated with
magic, food plays many roles in fairy tales, from transformative potions to
the poisoned apple and banquets materializing in an instant; its manifold,
alleged curative properties in herbs, beverages and broths are documented
in the earliest cookbook published in Spain, which even offers a recipe for
Gold Soup, reputed to “resuscitar un muerto.” In the chronicles of
exploration, new-found foods, associated preparations and ceremonies appear
with some regularity, while in Spain, Picaresque narratives depict both
feast and famine, fasting and excess, with hunger satisfied to grotesque
extremes. Male and female seducers alike employ foods as adjuncts to their
wiles. Nineteenth-century costumbrismo, regionalism and realism, all depict
in detail the regional variations of foods, their preparation and
associated ceremonies.
Monographic Review/Revista Monográfica invites papers of 12-15 papers on
this topic. The papers should be prepared according to MLA format,
submitted in hard copy and a high density diskette, with a 250 word
abstract. Preferred formats are WP9 or later and Word 8 or later (No Macs,
please). Use end notes only and do not justify the margins. Do not
underline, or use italics. Please include cover letter with your e-mail
address. DEADLINE: August 30, 2005.
Send to:
Genaro J. Pérez, Editor
Monographic Review/Revista Monográfica
Classical & Modern Languages & Literatures
Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas 79409-2071
Phone: 806.742.3145 Fax: 806.742.3306
naro J. Pérez
Professor of Spanish
Editor, Monographic Review
http://www.monographicreview.org
Book Review Editor, Hispania
www.hispaniajournal.org
Department of Classical and Modern Languages
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, TX 79409-2071
Phone: (806) 742-3145
FAX: (806) 742-3306
Personal webpage
http://www3.tltc.ttu.edu/gperez
Spanish Graduate Adviser
____________________________________________________
Dr Kirsty Hooper
Lecturer in Spanish and Galician
School of Modern Languages
University of Liverpool
Liverpool L69 7ZR
tel: #44 151 794 2778
fax: #44 151 794 2785
http://www.liv.ac.uk/sml/staff/hispanicstaff/hooper.htm
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