Fletcher Food Symposium: Cuisine and Identity in the Eastern Mediterranean

The 2017 Fletcher Food Symposium: Cuisine and Identity in the Eastern Mediterranean captured the historical and cultural significance of Eastern Mediterranean cuisine. It explored how the regional food reflects, shapes, and informs the East Mediterranean identity from the heart of Mesopotamia through modern Armenia to Greece. Guests and speakers included Oleana chef Ana Sortun, food historian Nawal Nasrallah, Middle Eastern studies scholar Tarek Abu Hussein, and many others interested in addressing Culinary Diplomacy in an academic forum.

Below, find the recordings in podcast format:

Panel 1: The Art of Culinary Diplomacy | The Fletcher Approach
Sam Chapple-Sokol (F12), Culinary Diplomacy Expert (Twitter @culinarydiplo)
Moderators: Nadim Shehadi & Molly Haragan
Recording here.

Panel 2: Politics of Hunger | Starvation and Famine in Syria
Emma Beals, Award Winning Investigative Journalist
José Ciro Martinez, Junior Research Fellow, University of Cambridge
Moderator:
Video recording here.
Recording here.

 

Panel 3: Neither Bread Nor Freedom | What Drives Revolts?
Ellen Messer, Affiliated Faculty, The Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy, Tufts University
Robert Paarlberg, Adjunct Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
Moderator: Dean Steven Block
Recording here.

Panel 4: Food, Peacebuilding, and Integration
Ihsan Karayazi, Chair of Kars Urban and Culture Research Association; Producer – Freelance Food Researcher
Armine Avetisyan, Arts and Peacebuilding Practitioner; Graduate Student in Conflict Resolution and Coexistence, Brandeis University
Gonca Sönmez-Poole (F99), Documentarian/Founder of Turkish-Armenian Women’s Alliance)
Anna Ackerman (F17), Co-founder of World to Table
Alex Galimberti, Senior Advocacy & Collaborations Advisor, Oxfam America
Moderator: Houchang Chehabi
Recording here.

Panel 5: Food, Cities, and Cultural Identity
Lynne Anderson, Director, English Language Learning, Boston College
John Carafoli, Author, Food Writer and International Food Stylist
Raad Al-Mumayiz, Co-founder of Sheherezad Food Truck
Suhair Al-Mosully, Co-founder of Sheherezad Food Truck
Nancy Harmon Jenkins, Food Writer and Mediterranean Cuisine Expert
Nawal Nasrallah, Food Writer and Author, historical Iraqi food culture
Moderator: Ibrahim Warde
Recording here.