SOAS Food Studies Centre

The SOAS Food Studies Centre is an interdisciplinary centre dedicated to the study of the political, economic, and cultural dimensions of food, historically and in the contemporary moment, from production, to exchange, to preparation, to consumption.

The Centre’s primary purposes are to promote research and teaching in the field of food studies at SOAS and to facilitate links between SOAS and other individuals and institutions with an academic interest in food studies. The Centre also convenes the SOAS Food Forum.

While the centre draws upon the regional expertise of its many members in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, it also engages in its teaching and research activities with other regions, such as Europe and the Americas, as well as with issues of global dimension.

Members of SOAS staff are eligible for full membership in the Centre. Applications for associate membership are accepted at the discretion of the Centre Chair from those with an academic interest in food. Membership is free of charge. Members are subscribed to the Centre e-mail list, which is used to announce Centre events and to disseminate information about food studies beyond the school including relevant conferences, calls for papers, job postings, and fellowship/studentship opportunities.

The centre is chaired by Dr Elizabeth Hull, Senior Lecturer in Social Anthropology.

The centre supports individual and collaborative research on food-related topics undertaken by SOAS staff and students through the establishment of research networks, the hosting of national and international workshops and conferences on food-related issues, and the facilitation of fundraising efforts in support of such initiatives.

The centre supports applications to various funding bodies for doctoral and post-doctoral research in areas of interest to one or more Centre members. Interested candidates should contact the centre chair.

Recordings of the SOAS Food Studies Centre's Distinguished Lectures can be found on the centre's YouTube playlist.

In this video, deputy chair of the centre (and former chair) Dr Jakob Klein interviews Chef Andrew Wong and Dr Mukta Das on their work at London's A.Wong Restaurant.

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