A day delves into cultural studies

The seminar was held with the aim of disseminating in Spain the methodology of critical cultural studies, which is widespread in the Anglo-Saxon academic scene.

Raul Garcia Hemonnet

Last Monday the 'International Seminar on Cultural Studies' took place at the Quintana headquarters. Communication, women, identity and 'food studies'' that has served to disseminate the methodology of critical cultural studies that is based on interdisciplinarity.

According to Yanet Acosta, organizer of the seminar and Professor of Journalism, one of the main conclusions of the session is that, "at a time when the scientific society is seduced by data and figures, cultural studies offer the context and the criticism". In addition, the speakers saw the need to incorporate this methodology "into our research on gender and gastronomic communication," says the URJC professor.

The conference was attended by the professor of the University of San Diego, Rebecca Ingram, who has published a book on cooking in the domestic sphere in Spain through the figures of Carmen de Burgos and Emilia Pardo Bazán.

The journalist from La Vanguardia Marc Casanovas also participated, speaking about his work 'No soc un dels vostres', in which he analyzes what the world of Catalan gastronomy was like before the explosion that occurred after the 1992 Olympics and the irruption of Ferrán Adria. The book defends the thesis that creativity alone does not ensure success.

The panel of speakers was closed by the journalist specialized in gender and gastronomy, María Arranz, and Yanet Acosta herself. “We were looking for the double approach. To show that the methodology is useful in the academic and professional fields2, points out the URJC professor.

The public, for the most part, was made up of undergraduate and master's students from the URJC and other universities, as well as several gastronomic journalists.

The seminar was also organized by Gloria Gómez Escalonilla, director of the Department of Journalism and Corporate Communication of the Faculty of Communication Sciences. In addition, for its realization it has had the support of the Unesco Chair for Communication Research of the URJC, the Vice-rectorate for Community, Campus, Culture and Sports, the Comojo Teaching Innovation Group and the Master in Cultural Journalism and New Trends.