Boston University sponsors the Pepin Lecture Series in Food Studies and Gastronomy and on Tuesday, February 12 at 6 pm at 808 Commonwealth Avenue you will hear Merry White, professor of anthropology at Boston University, discuss cooking and the extravagant banquets at the height of the Roman Empire. The reception will feature a sample of historically appropriate recipes, and the event is free. Sign up at www.bu.edu/foodandwine.
Boston University Professor Dr. Merry White (below) traces Japan’s vibrant cafe society over one hundred and thirty years, from Japan’s coffee craze at the turn of the twentieth century, when Japan helped to launch the Brazilian coffee industry, to the present day. Her talk takes up themes as diverse as gender, privacy, perfectionism and urbanism. Merry’s book, Coffee Life in Japan, will be available for purchase from and signing by the author. Coffee will be served, naturally. Co-sponsored by the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University and Friends of Wellesley Botanic Gardens. Members $10, non-members $15. Register by calling 781-283-3094, or visit www.wellesley.edu/wcbgfriends.
Boston University Professor of Anthropology Merry White explores the fascinating role that coffee and cafe society have played in Japanese culture in a lecture on Wednesday, May 9, from 6 – 8 at 808 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. White’s book, Coffee Life in Japan – part ethnography, part memoir – traces the cafe craze from 1888, when Japan helped to launch the Brazilian coffee industry, up to the present. Her work examines themes as diverse as gender, privacy, perfectionism, and urbanism. Learn how coffee and coffee spaces have played essential roles in the formation of Japanese beliefs about public space, social change, modernity, and pleasure. Hear how the cafe has been a place to encounter new ideas and experiments in thought, behavior, sexuality, dress and taste. Each person attending this event will receive a copy of White’s book. Refreshments will be served. $25. Register online at www.bu.edu/foodandwine.
