Food and Media Explored at 2023 Foodways Symposium

Mark your calendars for the 2023 Kalamazoo Foodways Symposium! This annual community celebration of the history and heritage of food and food systems in Southwest Michigan, sponsored by Kalamazoo Valley Community College, will take place April 10 and April 15. This year's theme is "Food and Media." The public is encouraged to attend the free event.

Festivities open with a virtual keynote address, "Food Media: Forging Past, Present & Future Connections," on Monday, April 10, from 6-8 p.m., delivered by food media authority Emily Contois, Ph.D. She is the Assistant Professor of Media Studies at The University of Tulsa, where she is Faculty in Residence, as well. Contois is a scholar, writer and teacher whose research explores the links between food, the body, health and identities in contemporary U.S. media and popular culture.

The Foodways Symposium will culminate with an outdoor festival of food and media on April 15, in downtown Kalamazoo at Kalamazoo Valley Community College's Food and Innovation Center on the Bronson Healthy Living Campus. It features food vendors, community organizations, art displays, youth workshops, planting activities, live music and a special foraging session by Gabrielle Cerberville, a.k.a. @Chaoticforager.

The first hour of Emily Contois' two-hour "Food Media: Forging Past, Present & Future Connections" keynote address will be moderated by Western Michigan University Presidential Innovation Professor in Communication Sue Ellen Christian, Ph.D., creator of the "Wonder Media" news literacy exhibit at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. The Foodways Symposium is a collaboration between the museum and the Bronson Healthy Living Campus, both operated by Kalamazoo Valley Community College.

Contois is the author of "Diners, Dudes and Diets: How Gender and Power Collide in Food Media and Culture" and co-editor of "Food Instagram: Identity, Influence, and Negotiation." She has written for such major media outlets as NBC News and Jezebel online women's magazine; been on podcasts like "Gastropod," BBC "The Food Chain" and "Food Psych"; and appeared on CBS "This Morning," "BBC Ideas" and on "Ugly Delicious" with chef David Chang on Netflix. She holds doctoral and master's degrees in American Studies from Brown University, as well as a Master of Liberal Arts in gastronomy from Boston University and a Master in Public Health in Public Health Nutrition from University of California, Berkeley.

The Foodways Symposium provides historical, cultural and practical insights into the region's food and food systems, and equally important, serves as a yearly convening point for students, practitioners and the community to come together to ensure our local food system remains strong and vibrant. The event is made possible in part by a grant from the KVCC Foundation.

Visit kalamazoofoodways.org for details and to preregister for the live virtual events as they become available in the coming months.