Nina Namaste, along with colleagues Alison Atkins from Wake Forest University and Claudia Femenias from High Point University, led the highly successful Meaning of Food: Interdisciplinary Conference on Representations of Food in the Arts & Humanities.
Associate Professor of Spanish Nina Namaste on March 26-28 led the highly successful Meaning of Food: Interdisciplinary Conference on Representations of Food in the Arts & Humanities, along with colleagues Alison Atkins from Wake Forest University and Claudia Femenias from High Point University.
The nontraditional, discussion-based symposium style conference held at Elon University School of Law in Greensboro attracted 33 national and international participants. In addition to presentations, the symposium included there were chef demonstrations, pedagogical workshops, and, of course, delectable meals.
The keynote and experiential learning workshop speakers were Lisa Heldke, professor of philosophy at Gustavus Adolphus College, and Cynthia Belliveau, dean of adult education at the University of Vermont. They presented on the John Dewey Kitchen Institute model, which focuses on using food as a means to engage in and explore larger topics, such as the meaning of democracy, which we implemented during the workshop Bento Box activity.
The conference received substantial support from the Funds for Excellence in the Arts & Humanities.