As part of of the event "Castelli Romani. Myth, Religion and Eno-Gastronomic Traditions", to be held in Velletri between the 7nd and 11th July 2015, Antrocom Onlus and Museum of Religions "Raffaele Pettazzoni" are organizing the conference "Food and The Sacred. Traditions and Symbols" dedicated to the topic of Archaeology and Anthropology of Food. 

The conference aims to investigate from an interdisciplinary point of view the mechanisms underlying the function that food and nutrition can play in the context of religious and traditional beliefs. Cultural areas of interest are the civilizations of the Ancient, Medieval, Modern and Contemporary World, as well as folkloric or ethnographic contexts .

The papers may deal with the following issues:

1. The role played by food symbolism in ritual contexts.

2. The role played by food symbolism in religious feasts.

3. The role played by food symbolism in mythical or folkloric tales.

4. The rituals of the agricultural cycle.

5. Possible "magical" or therapeutic features present in traditional beliefs related to food culture.

6. In the context of current multi-ethnic society what relationships, pertaining to religious precepts and traditional beliefs concerning food, were developed by both immigrant and native inhabitants of a particular place?

7. The contemporary phenomena of ritual or "neo-traditional" crops of unscientific character, such as biodynamic agriculture.

8. The story of the studies.

The conference covers three thematic areas of research:

1. Religious Anthropology and Folklore (coordinator Ernesto Renzo - University of Rome "Tor Vergata")

2. Sociology of Religion (coordinator Paul Naso - Sapienza University of Rome)

3. History of Religions (coordinator Paul Scarpi - University of Padua)

Organizing Secretary: Igor Baglioni (Museum of Religions "Raffaele Pettazzoni")

Scholars interested in presenting a contribution can send an abstract of no more than one page (max 2000 characters) to Dr. Igor Baglioni ([log in to unmask]) no later than April 15, 2015. Moreover they must include:

-the title of the paper;

-the chosen area of research;

-a short biography of the authors;

-an e-mail address;

-a telephone number.

Acceptance of papers will be notified (via email) to the interested persons by April 25, 2015. The complete paper with footnotes and bibliography must be delivered (again in via email) by June 20, 2015. The delivery of the paper is binding for the participation in the conference.

Dates to remember:

Closing call for papers: April 15, 2015.

Notification paper acceptance: April 25, 2015.

Delivery papers: June 20, 2015.

Conference: 7-8-9-10-11 July 2015.

Participation in the conference is free. The speakers living outside the province of Rome will be accommodated at a discounted price in the accommodation facilities at the Museum of Religions "Raffaele Pettazzoni". The Conference Acts will be published in Religio. Series of Studies of the Museum of Religions "Raffaele Pettazzoni" (Edizioni Quasar) and in scientific journals. The papers will be subject to a final peer review before publication. The conference is structurally associated with the organization of the event "Castelli Romani. Myth, Religion and Eno-Gastronomic Traditions" that organizes the White Nights in the towns of the Castelli Romani sponsoring the event (Albano Laziale, Ariccia, Castel Gandolfo, Cisterna di Latina, Genzano di Roma, Lanuvio, Larian, Nemi, Rocca di Papa, Velletri). Every night the conference speakers will visit as guests a different Municipality, watch the planned shows and participate to free guided tours to museums and monuments of the area. The program will be announced simultaneously with the conference program.

For information:
email:[log in to unmask]
web: http://www.antrocom.org/ciboesacro

Lucia Galasso

email [log in to unmask]

www.evoluzioneculturale.it