Spring School 2027

Apply now: Spring School ‘Food History as Global Transfer History’

Dates: 15 to 19 March 2027

Organisation: Organised by the Gotha Research Centre in collaboration with the Gotha Research Library and the Friedenstein Foundation Gotha; funded by the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation

Director: Professor Martin Mulsow (Erfurt/Gotha), Professor Anselm Schubert (Erlangen)

‘Food history’, a field that has flourished for more than two decades, particularly in the Anglo-American world, is a branch of historical studies in which many disciplines converge: food history, the history of botany, global history, human geography, economic history, consumer history, the study of material culture and experimental archaeology. 

The culture of human foodstuffs, spices and eating habits over the centuries; the interplay of food, infrastructure and culture in specific regions (so-called ‘foodscapes’); the global transfer of crops, spices, practices and recipes (so-called ‘foodways’), the history of the production and dissemination of key consumer goods (salt, sugar, tea, coffee, chocolate), as well as the socio-political and emotional-cultural contexts of diets and dietary practices (such as vegetarianism and ritual dietary laws) and their cultural and symbolic manifestations (such as the preservation and transmission of knowledge through recipes) are research areas that frequently overlap in modern food history. 

The course will introduce various topics in food history, focusing on aspects of the global transfer of foodstuffs, practices, recipes and their symbolic representations in pre-modern Europe (from the earliest civilisations to around 1800). Thematically, we will explore what food history can contribute to global and transfer history, and to what extent it can be extended into the global history of culture and knowledge. How did food and its consumers change with the arrival of new foods and technology? When and where did spices, recipes and flavours arrive in Europe, and how were they integrated into – or excluded from – local foodways? 

As Gotha is home to numerous collections, the course will draw on examples such as artefacts (at Friedenstein Castle), old prints, manuscripts and maps (at the Gotha Research Library and the Gotha Perthes Collection). It will also include a practical component: under the guidance of Anselm Schubert, who is also a trained chef, the recipes reconstructed collectively will be put into practice. Dominik Fugger, an expert on changes in taste in the 17th century, will be on hand, as will Olaf Simons, an expert on 18th-century court cuisine; other guest lecturers will provide an introduction to Islamic and Japanese culinary traditions.

The one-week course is aimed at advanced undergraduates working on their master's thesis, PhD students and postdoctoral candidates who are working in the broader field of this topic or wish to deepen their interest in it, as well as employees at museums and similar institutions who deal with food history. 

Participants will be provided with free accommodation in Gotha; travel costs will be reimbursed up to a maximum of 200 euros (within Germany) or 500 euros (from abroad).

Venue: Gotha Research Centre, Schloßberg 2.