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Theme and Purpose of the Conference
The 19th International Conference on Food Culture, which has the theme “Ritual and Food Culture,” continues the biennial tradition established by the Foundation of Chinese Dietary Culture to foster scholarly exchange on food, culture, and society. Following the 18th conference held in Kyoto in 2024 under the theme “Comparative Studies of Sustainable Food Cultures,” this year’s meeting at Yonsei University in Seoul deepens the dialogue by exploring the ritual dimensions of food and the symbolic systems that sustain human civilization.
The conference aims to examine the intricate relationships between food, ritual, and human culture in both historical and contemporary contexts. As an essential aspect of daily life, food is not only a biological necessity but also a profound cultural symbol that expresses values, social order, and cosmological understanding. Through ritualized practices, food acquires meanings that transcend the material realm, shaping human relationships with nature, the divine, and society.
This biennial gathering seeks to bring together scholars from diverse disciplines such as anthropology, folklore, history, religious studies, sociology, and performance studies to engage in an interdisciplinary dialogue on how food functions as a medium of ritual expression and cultural identity. By investigating the intersections of ritual behavior and dietary practices, we hope to deepen our understanding of how human communities construct moral, emotional, and social worlds through food.
The themes of the conference include Sacrifice, Taboos, Festivals, Customs, Mythology, Rites of Passage, Social Etiquette, Dining Conventions, Emotion, and Specific Time and Space dimensions, and reflect the multifaceted ways in which food operates within ritual contexts.
The topic of Sacrifice invites discussion on offerings to gods, ancestors, or spirits, exploring how sacrificial food symbolizes communication between human and transcendental realms. Taboos concern restrictions on eating or preparing certain foods, and reveal systems of purity, pollution, and moral order within different societies. Festivals represent collective occasions where ritual meals affirm community bonds, seasonal cycles, and the renewal of life. Customs encompass everyday ritualized habits that reinforce social harmony and local identity
Mythology provides the cosmological foundation for many food-related rituals. Stories of origin, divine feasts, and miraculous provisions often determine what is eaten and how. Rites of Passage including birth, coming-of-age, marriage, and death highlight how food marks the transition between life stages and social statuses. Social Etiquette and Dining Conventions demonstrate the moral and aesthetic dimensions of eating, where bodily gestures, seating arrangements, and serving orders articulate hierarchy, respect, and harmony.
The emotional dimension of food, encapsulated under Emotion, emphasizes how taste, memory, and affection intertwine in ritual practices. Food offered, shared, or abstained from often embodies emotional values such as gratitude, mourning, or reverence that form the core of human relationships. Lastly, the theme of Specific Time and Space underscores the temporal and spatial frameworks that shape ritual meals. From ancestral halls to festival grounds, from the New Year’s Eve dinner to the midday sacrifice, food rituals occur within distinct coordinates that give meaning to human existence.
In today’s rapidly changing world, food and ritual continue to evolve under the pressures of globalization, industrialization, and digital technology. Modern societies witness the commodification of traditional cuisines, the revival of ancient ceremonies, and the invention of new dining rituals in virtual or transnational settings. These transformations raise important questions about authenticity, continuity, and adaptation. How do communities negotiate between sacred traditions and modern lifestyles? How does the ritual significance of food persist or transform when detached from its original social or religious framework?
The 19th International Conference on Food Culture aims not only to document these changes but also to provide a platform for theoretical reflection and cultural dialogue. By comparing diverse traditions across Asia and beyond, participants will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of food as a total social phenomenon, one that links body and spirit, the individual and the collective, the local and the global.
The conference aims to examine the intricate relationships between food, ritual, and human culture in both historical and contemporary contexts. As an essential aspect of daily life, food is not only a biological necessity but also a profound cultural symbol that expresses values, social order, and cosmological understanding. Through ritualized practices, food acquires meanings that transcend the material realm, shaping human relationships with nature, the divine, and society.
This biennial gathering seeks to bring together scholars from diverse disciplines such as anthropology, folklore, history, religious studies, sociology, and performance studies to engage in an interdisciplinary dialogue on how food functions as a medium of ritual expression and cultural identity. By investigating the intersections of ritual behavior and dietary practices, we hope to deepen our understanding of how human communities construct moral, emotional, and social worlds through food.
The themes of the conference include Sacrifice, Taboos, Festivals, Customs, Mythology, Rites of Passage, Social Etiquette, Dining Conventions, Emotion, and Specific Time and Space dimensions, and reflect the multifaceted ways in which food operates within ritual contexts.
The topic of Sacrifice invites discussion on offerings to gods, ancestors, or spirits, exploring how sacrificial food symbolizes communication between human and transcendental realms. Taboos concern restrictions on eating or preparing certain foods, and reveal systems of purity, pollution, and moral order within different societies. Festivals represent collective occasions where ritual meals affirm community bonds, seasonal cycles, and the renewal of life. Customs encompass everyday ritualized habits that reinforce social harmony and local identity
Mythology provides the cosmological foundation for many food-related rituals. Stories of origin, divine feasts, and miraculous provisions often determine what is eaten and how. Rites of Passage including birth, coming-of-age, marriage, and death highlight how food marks the transition between life stages and social statuses. Social Etiquette and Dining Conventions demonstrate the moral and aesthetic dimensions of eating, where bodily gestures, seating arrangements, and serving orders articulate hierarchy, respect, and harmony.
The emotional dimension of food, encapsulated under Emotion, emphasizes how taste, memory, and affection intertwine in ritual practices. Food offered, shared, or abstained from often embodies emotional values such as gratitude, mourning, or reverence that form the core of human relationships. Lastly, the theme of Specific Time and Space underscores the temporal and spatial frameworks that shape ritual meals. From ancestral halls to festival grounds, from the New Year’s Eve dinner to the midday sacrifice, food rituals occur within distinct coordinates that give meaning to human existence.
In today’s rapidly changing world, food and ritual continue to evolve under the pressures of globalization, industrialization, and digital technology. Modern societies witness the commodification of traditional cuisines, the revival of ancient ceremonies, and the invention of new dining rituals in virtual or transnational settings. These transformations raise important questions about authenticity, continuity, and adaptation. How do communities negotiate between sacred traditions and modern lifestyles? How does the ritual significance of food persist or transform when detached from its original social or religious framework?
The 19th International Conference on Food Culture aims not only to document these changes but also to provide a platform for theoretical reflection and cultural dialogue. By comparing diverse traditions across Asia and beyond, participants will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of food as a total social phenomenon, one that links body and spirit, the individual and the collective, the local and the global.