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Tea and Coffee: Cultural Representations in language and practice
Thé et café : les représentations culturelles dans les langues et les pratiques
Published on Wednesday, March 06, 2013
Abstract
First discovered in the Orient, tea and coffee are today the drinks most frequently consumed daily, right after water. This geographic and historical pervasion makes an inquiry into their cultural representations in language and practice seem fruitful.We wish for an interdisciplinary exchange between linguists, anthropologists, historians, literary critics, but also professionals in three areas of interest: tasting; rituals and symbols; exchange and evolution. Interdisciplinary approaches would be most welcome.
Announcement
International Colloquium – Tea & Coffee: Cultural Representations in Language and Practice, October 24 – 25, 2013, Université Lumières Lyon 2 (Lyon, France)
Organised by Terminology and Translation Research Center (Université Lyon 2)
Argument
The discovery of tea goes back to Chinese antiquity, and, according to Arab legends, Mohammed was healed by coffee. Both drinks have centuries of history to show for. Today, carried into the four corners of the world, these two are the drinks most frequently consumed daily, right after water (and actually, there is quite a rivalry between them for the title). This geographic and historical pervasion makes an inquiry into their cultural representations in language and practice seem fruitful.
Numerous scientific papers have already dealt with the impact of tea and coffee on our bodies, so we would like to take a closer look at their description and appreciation as cultural objects in different contexts. PR and marketing have strongly changed the image of tea and coffee: We now talk of origins and growing areas, like with wine. And even if we do not yet use an official term like ‘oenology’ for tastings of tea and coffee, professional ‘tea-‘ or ‘coffee master’ slowly enter public awareness. Publications that initiate us into this art are countless. But how do our eyes, our noses, and our palates appreciate the same drink differently in the four corners of the world? What does the terminology used during tastings, or for the description of these drinks, tell us about our perception, or our conception of them?
Boiling, infusion, matcha, filter, piston, or percolation, in the privacy of our homes, or in public places, the ways we consume tea and coffee have evolved enormously. We would be interested not only in a description of each gesture, but also in their origins (cultural, economic, and technological), as well as their perception in society.
It is thus that we would like to place these two drinks firmly back into their socio-cultural context. How could tea and coffee conquer the world after their origins in the Orient (generally speaking)? Associated with a Zen mind-set, or the signature drink of a rising bourgeoisie, what have these two stimulants represented for different groups, and at different times? How do economic agents explore these symbols, and do they, in turn, fashion our representations?
We wish for an interdisciplinary exchange between linguists, anthropologists, historians, literary critics, but also professionals. Papers should preferably fall into one of three areas of interest:
- Tastings: Procedures and terminology, especially from an anthropological, or linguistic angle, or from the perspective of sensorial analysis. Interdisciplinary approaches would be most welcome.
- Rituals and Symbols: Which rituals and symbols are part of our experience of tea and coffee? How can we describe and interpret the ceremonies associated with these drinks? How do they develop over time? What words are used to express them? How are they mediatised, amongst others in commercial and advertising practice?
- Exchange and Evolution: How are the practices of consumption of tea and coffee diffused in time and space? How does this entail an evolution of practices? What is the role of marketing and advertising in these processes?
Submission guidelines
Please send your abstracts of 200 – 350 words (in doc/x, odt, or pdf formats), together with a short bio- and bibliographical note about yourself, to weiwei.guo-gripay@univ-lyon2.fr using as subject heading “International Colloquium Tea & Coffee”.
Language: English, French
A selection of the best papers will be published in an edited book.
Timeline
-
Deadline for abstracts: Friday, May 10, 2013
- Notification of acceptance: End of June
- Registration: End of June
(Presentation of a paper is not required for registration.)
For any academic-related inquiries please contact the conference organizers:
- Weiwei Guo (weiwei.guo-gripay@univ-lyon2.fr)
- Sylvain Farge (sylvain.farge@univ-lyon2.fr)
- Marie Laureillard (marie.laureillard@univ-lyon2.fr)
Scientific committee
- Danièle Dubois (Directrice de recherche au CNRS, responsable des thèmes perception et cognition au LAM)
- Sylvain Farge (sémanticien, Maître de conférence à l'Université Lyon 2)
- Agnès Giboreau (chercheuse en analyse sensorielle, Directrice du Centre de Recherche de l’Institut Paul Bocuse)
- Hassan Hamzé (terminologue, directeur du bureau Lexicologie, Terminologie, Lexicographie et Traduction Arabes, Université Lyon 2)
- Galina Kabakova (Maître de conférences HDR en civilisation russe, Université Paris Sorbonne)
- Marie Laureillard (Maître de conférences en langue et civilisation chinoises, Université Lyon 2)
- Heping Liu (professeur en traduction et interprétation, Beijing Language and Culture University)
- François Maniez (terminologue, professeur à l'Université Lyon 2)
- Yves Monnier (professeur au Muséum national d’histoire naturelle)
- Martine Raibaud (sinologue, Maître de conférences à l'Université La Rochelle)
- Marie-Hélène Sauner (anthropologue, Maître de conférences à l'Université d'Aix-Marseille)
- François Souty, (historien, professeur à l'Université La Rochelle)
- Dominique Valentin (chercheuse en psychologie au Centre Européen des Sciences du Goût, Université de Bourgogne)
- Olivier Wathelet (anthropologue culturel, chef de projet innovation chez SEB)
Subjects
Places
- Université Lumières Lyon 2
Lyon, France (69)
Date(s)
- Friday, May 10, 2013
Keywords
- thé, café, représentations culturelles, langue, littérature, anthropologie
Contact(s)
- Weiwei Guo
courriel : weiwei [dot] guo-gripay [at] univ-lyon2 [dot] fr
Reference Urls
Information source
- Weiwei Guo
courriel : weiwei [dot] guo-gripay [at] univ-lyon2 [dot] fr
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« Tea and Coffee: Cultural Representations in language and practice », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Wednesday, March 06, 2013, https://doi.org/10.58079/n03