Is the content included in Bloomsbury Food Library available online anywhere else?
The Food Cultures of the World Encyclopedia is available online exclusively in Bloomsbury Food Library, alongside important titles in food studies such as; Food Words, The Sexual Politics of Meat and The Handbook of Food and Anthropology. A limited number of eBooks in the resource are available on other Bloomsbury digital products, including the upcoming Bloomsbury Cultural History, Bloomsbury Design Library and Bloomsbury Collections. All of the eBooks in the resource are fully-indexed exclusively for the resource and can be cross-searched with other related content.
Does the resource cover food history across countries?
The resource offers unrivalled coverage of all aspects of food history from almost every country in the world. Food Cultures of the World Encyclopedia is organised by geographic region, with detailed articles that cover each country’s food culture, major foodstuffs and recipes. An interactive world map clearly displays all the relevant content for each continent and country, offering the ability to explore easily by geographic area.
Bloomsbury Food Library features a wide selection of works on food-related studies, from examinations of the history of food in a specific period and culture, to a comparative analysis of contemporary food cultures around the world. Exploring key areas including food systems, food in the media, food justice, power structures in relation to food, and food cultures, the resource has a vast array of research and pedagogy to discover. Using the resource, scholars will understand how food can be used to elucidate how human societies change and interact across time and place. To use Warren Belasco’s words in his Foreword to Food Words (2013): ‘food becomes a way to integrate disparate issues because everything is connected. And thanks to the higher than average quality of food writing, exploring those connections can be innately pleasurable.’
What time period is covered?
The full history of food is covered from prehistoric times to the present day.
Will the resource be updated?
Yes, new and revised content will be added to Bloomsbury Food Library twice a year at no extra charge. Updates will include new primary resource images from museums and collections, curated lesson plans and pedagogical resources, additional eBooks in food history, and more.
Bloomsbury Food Library is an invaluable resource for students, scholars and researchers studying food in disciplines as wide-ranging as history, sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, human geography, sustainability, agriculture, culinary arts, literary studies, political science, and development studies.
