Food Studies

Learn about the history of various food items and food systems through A Taste of the Past podcast:

• The Oxford Handbook of Food History  
  • Explore the social biography and politics of food, and how food history is connected with race and ethnicity in the United States. The book also focuses on cookbooks as an important primary source for historians.

• Food in Time and Place; the American Historical Association Companion to Food History 

  • A  review of the state of historical research on food, providing readers with a geographically, chronologically, and topically broad understanding of food cultures--from ancient Mediterranean and medieval societies to France and its domination of haute cuisine.

• Food and Drink in American History: A "Full Course" Encyclopedia 

  • ​​​​​​​This three-volume encyclopedia on the history of American food and beverages serves.

• American Appetites: a Documentary Reader 

  • ​​​​​​​Brings together compelling firsthand testimony describing the nation’s collective eating habits throughout time.

• Ethnic American Food Today: A Cultural Encyclopedia 

  • Introduces readers to the myriad ethnic food cultures in the U.S. today. Entries are organized alphabetically by nation and present the background and history of each food culture along with explorations of the place of that food in mainstream American society today. 

• The Routledge History of American Foodways

  • ​​​​​​​ The Routledge History of American Foodways provides an important overview of the main themes surrounding the history of food in the Americas from the pre-colonial era to the present day. 

• World Food: An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Social Influence from Hunter-Gathers to the Age of Globalization 

  • Articles also include specific foodstuffs such as chocolate, potatoes, and tomatoes; topics such as Mediterranean diet and the Spice Route; and pivotal figures.

• Foods that Changed History : How Foods Shaped Civilization from the Ancient World to the Present 

  • Nearly 100 entries on foods that have shaped history--fascinating topics that are rarely addressed in detail in traditional history texts. 

• The Routledge History of Food 

  • Focusing on the period from 1500 to the present day. Arranged chronologically, this title contains 17 originally commissioned chapters by experts in food history or related topics.

• Food History Almanac: Over 1,300 Years of World Culinary History, Culture, and Social Influence 

  • ​​​​​​​The Food History Almanac covers 365 days of the year, with information and anecdotes relating to food history from around the world from medieval times to the present.

• The Food Chronology : a Food Lover's Compendium of Events and Anecdotes from Prehistory to the Present 

  • ​​​​​​​A food lover's compendium of events and anecdotes from prehistory to the present. More than 13,000 entries cover the subject in 28 specialized areas such as agriculture, environment, transportation and food retailing. Also covers celebrated chefs and famous restaurants, great food writers and films, food songs and scandals.

• Encyclopedia of Food and Culture 

  • ​​​​​​​A three-volume survey of food and its place in human culture and society.

• Encyclopedia of Kitchen History 

  • ​​​​​​​From the discovery of fire to the latest space mission, the Encyclopedia of Kitchen History brings together the rich diversity of kitchen history in one accessible volume. 

• The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America (2nd. ed) 

  • ​​​​​​​Home cooks and gourmets, chefs and restaurateurs, epicures, and simple food lovers of all stripes will delight in this smorgasbord of the history and culture of food and drink. 

• AM Explorer AM Explorer is a cross-collection search of the entire corpus of Adam Matthew's digitized arts and cultural heritage material.

• Food and Drink in History (AM Explorer) From feast to famine, explore primary source material documenting the story of food and drink throughout history. 

• Global and Ethnic Cuisines (Food and Drink in History) This theme encompasses global cuisines and includes cookbooks published for a home readership – those that have indigenous recipes or encourage the use of local ingredients and produce – as well as those intended to introduce global cuisines to a new market. 

• Food, Race and Ethnicity (Food and Drink in History) Steeped in tradition and bound by ties of culture and community, food is often seen as central to one’s racial or ethnic identity. This theme includes cookbooks focused on the cuisines of different ethnic or national groups, as well as documents such as marketing reports and consumer studies which aim to analyse the behaviours and habits of these groups and adapt business strategies accordingly.

• Food and Gender (Food and Drink in History) Gender and food have historically been closely intertwined. Food has also been central to gender debates and used to charge causes such as women’s rights and suffrage.

• Global Commodities: Trade, Exploration & Cultural Exchange (AM Explorer) This resource brings together manuscript, printed and visual primary source materials for the study of global commodities in world history. 

• Everyday Life & Women in America (AM Explorer) Everyday Life & Women in America c.1800-1920 showcases unique primary source material for the study of American social, cultural, and popular history in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

• Trade Catalogues and the American Home (AM Explorer) Explore domestic consumerism, life and leisure in America between 1850-1950 with Trade Catalogues and the American Home. 

• J. Walter Thompson: Advertising America (AM Explorer) The J. Walter Thompson Company Archive documents the history, operation, policies and accomplishments of one of the world's largest and oldest advertising firms. The papers here reveal many aspects of twentieth-century cultural, social, business, marketing, consumer and economic history while investigating the human psyche.

• Market Research and American Business, 1935-1965 (AM Explorer)