Interdisciplinary Research Seminar series

About the lecture series:

This interdisciplinary lecture series examines how technology, food, and health intersect as cultural, political, and technological systems. Drawing on anthropology, rhetoric, linguistics, and policy studies, the series explores how the stories we tell and the rituals we perform shape meanings of nourishment and wellness. By engaging global and local perspectives, the project highlights how technological innovations, from lab-grown meat to algorithmic health tools, reshape identities, access, and cultural practices around food and health. Through lectures and a panel, the series will foster a campus-wide dialogue on how communities eat and imagine futures in a technological age. 

Upcoming Lectures

October 15, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. in Discovery Hall 1070

Speaker: Dr. Dela Kuma, Department of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh

Title: Eating in Times of Global Change: Food Technologies and Daily Life in Southeastern Ghana. 

November 12, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. at Morton Auditorium

Speaker: Dr. Jeremy Tirrell, Department of English, University of North Carolina, Wilmington

Title: The Techno Horror of Consumption: Contemporary Eating Practices as Response to Technology Fears. 

Spring 2027 lectures (Updates coming soon)

February, 2027: A panel of community members will discuss food sustainability

March, 2027: A speaker will give a seminar on food, public health, and the environment.