 |
 |
Apologies for cross posting. *Call for Papers: Association of American Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting, 21-25 April, 2015, Chicago* *Food Politics and The Agrarian Question * Session organizers: Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern and Evan Weissman (Food Studies, Syracuse University) Discussant: Melanie DuPuis (Environmental Studies, Pace University) Sponsored by the Geographies of Food and Agriculture Specialty Group Kautsky (1988 [1899]) defined the classic agrarian question by identifying the difficulty in reconciling Marxist theories of capitalism with the history of agrarian development, asking: where do peasants fit into Marx’s picture of the capitalist mode of production and progression to socialism? Since Kautsky first made his claim concerning the peasantry, many scholars have taken up his challenge to understand these contradictions both in terms of Marx’s original conception of the peasantry and in relation to shifting material realities of the peasantry and small scale farmers (See Chayanov 1966 [1919]; Bernstein 2006; Byers 1977; Goodman and Watts 1997; Henderson 1998; Mann 1990, McMichael 1997 and 2013; among others). In this session we look to revisit the agrarian question by putting traditional debates regarding agrarian question(s) in conversation with contemporary scholarship on the politics of agro-food. As Michael Watts and David Goodman note, the agrarian question is not something that can be resolved, per se, but is continually “renewed by the contradictory and uneven development of capitalism itself” (1997:6). The current period of agro-food activism and an expanding global agro-food economy presents unique opportunities to explore agrarian questions. We seek papers engaged in topics including, but not limited to: · Agrarian Transitions · Labor in the Food System · Alternative Food Networks · Race and Ethnicity · Political Positioning of Small Producers · Land Grabs · Food Justice · Food Sovereignty We invite potential participants to send an email including presentation title, 250-word abstract, name, and institution to Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern ( [log in to unmask]) and Evan Weissman ([log in to unmask]) by 5pm on Friday, October 24, 2014. We will confirm participation in this session by Friday, October 31. NOTE: we will ask presenters to submit full draft papers several weeks before the conference. *Citations* Bernstein, Henry. 2006. “Is There an Agrarian Question in the 21st Century?” *Canadian Journal of Development Studies / Revue canadienne d’études du développement* 27 (4): 449. Byres, T. J. 1977. “Agrarian transition and the agrarian question.” *Journal of Peasant Studies* 4 (3): 258. Chayanov, A. V, D. Thorner, B. Kerblay, and R. E. F. Smith. 1966 [1919]. *On the theory of peasant economy*. Vol. 111. Irwin. Goodman, D., & Watts, M. (Eds.). (1997). *Globalising food: agrarian questions and global restructuring*. Psychology Press. Henderson, G. (1998). Nature and fictitious capital: the historical geography of an agrarian question. *Antipode*, *30*(2), 73-118. Kautsky, Karl. 1988[1899]. *The Agrarian Question: in Two Volumes*. Zwan Publications. Mann, Susan. 1990. *Agrarian capitalism in theory and practice*. Chapel Hill: UNC Press Books. McMichael, P. 1997. Rethinking globalization: the agrarian question revisited. *Review of International PoIiticaI Economy*, *4*(4), 630-662. McMichael. 2013. Food Regimes and Agrarian Questions. Winnipeg: Fernwood Publishing. -- Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern, PhD Assistant Professor, Food Studies 304E Lyman Hall Department of Public Health, Food Studies, and Nutrition Syracuse University Syracuse, NY 13244 <http://falk.syr.edu/faculty/Minkoff-ZernLaura-Anne.aspx>