Colonialism and migration profoundly shape culinary landscapes.
Food not only marks the boundary between the self and others, but also lays the foundation of self-identity. Traditional dishes and festive rituals often serve to maintain ties with one’s place of origin. At the same time, food is far more than a gustatory experience—it engages layers of visual, olfactory, and auditory memory, becoming a powerful catalyst for evoking childhood and homeland recollections. This talk draws on diverse culinary examples from around the world—from pizza, hamburgers, pickled vegetables, and lumpia to Taiwan’s beloved sweet potatoes and milkfish—to explore how eating functions as a practice of memory, laden with emotional weight and cultural significance.
Speaker｜Yujen Chen (Taiwan)
Professor in the Department of Taiwanese Languages and Literature at National Taiwan Normal University, Professor Yujen Chen is the author of A Cultural History of “Taiwanese Cuisine”: Nationhood On the Menu (Japanese edition: 『「台湾菜」の文化史：国民料理の創造と変遷』), Culture of Eating and Drinking, and Big Bowls, Big Spoons: Are You Full Yet? Essential Stories of Taiwanese Cuisine. She is also the translator of Food, Power, and National Identity: The Making of Modern Japanese Cuisine, among other works. In recent years, her research has focused on the history of food culture in relation to literature and society, with the aim of uncovering overlooked culinary histories and gaining deeper insight into diverse world cultures and global society.
