Call for papers: Feeding animals/Eating animals. Theories, attitudes and cultural representations of nutrition in ancient and medieval world (Palermo, Feb. 27, 2015)

Woman feeding a hen and chickens, circa 1325-1335. London, BL, Add. 42130, f.166v

Memoria Scientiae, 2015
Feeding animals/Eating animals. Theories, attitudes and cultural representations of nutrition in ancient and medieval world

Palermo, 27 febbraio 2015
Esperienza inSegna Polo didattico di Viale delle Scienze, Università di Palermo

Abstract deadline: Thursday, December 18, 2014

Organizers

• Pietro Li Causi (independent researcher, Palermo)
• Andrea Libero Carbone (independent researcher, Palermo)

Scientific Board

• Isabelle Draelants (Institut de recherche et d’histoire des textes, CNRS, Paris)
• Cristiana Franco (Università degli Studi di Siena)
• Roberto Pomelli (ricercatore indipendente, Palermo)
• Arnaud Zucker (Université Nice Sophia Antipolis).

Call for papers — Topics

According to ancient biological theories, nutrition is, along with reproduction, one of the functions of the soul shared by men, animals and plants. At the same time, however, eating habits are among the starting points on which differences between humans, animals and plants are culturally built. This means that a transversal biological praxis can be used as an anthropological device, in order to to fix and identify specific boundaries and thresholds, either symbolic or theoretical, between both animality and vegetality on the one hand, and zoosphere and anthroposphere on the other hand.

In light of this framework, the issues which contributors are invited to reflect on are the following:

1. The ways in which symbolic and theoretical boundaries and thresholds are constructed in Greco-roman and medieval texts and cultures;
2. The theories of nutrition in the framework of the ancient animal (and human) ‘psychology’ (e. g., in Aristotle, in ancient medicine, in the Presocratics, in Roman and medieval encyclopedists);
3. The cultural polarity between vegetarianism and sarcophagy in ancient and medieval cultures;
4. The ancient and medieval ethologies of nutrition.

Please send abstracts of 400 words (along with your name, email, institutional affiliation, and field of study) to pietrolicausi@gmail.com by Thursday, December 18, 2014.

Call for papers in PDF (Italian and English)