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Under the British Mandate for Palestine (1920-1948) European Jews settled in the country in unprecedented numbers. Within this broader history of colonisation, asking what Jewish settlers ate there might not seem like a pressing matter. But for many Jewish experts in Palestine – including nutritionists, agronomists, economists, and others – promoting a proper diet among Jewish newcomers was not strictly a matter of public health, but rather a tool to support and sustain a growing settler-colonial economy in an expanding Jewish settlement.
Notably, women led many of the efforts to educate Jewish settlers on matters of consumption. Through food programmes, newspaper columns, radio shows, and cookbooks, female nutrition experts prescribed a diet that drew on nutritional science but was adapted to national goals. Bringing together food, physiques, and Zionist ideology, this presentation will highlight the political economy of nutrition and its value for the colonisation of Palestine.
About the speaker
Efrat Gilad earned her PhD in International History from the Graduate Institute, Geneva. For her doctoral thesis: "Meat in the Heat: A History of Tel Aviv under the British Mandate" she was awarded the Doc.CH grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation. In Spring 2021 she will join the Institute of Jewish Studies at the University of Bern for a Postdoctoral project on "Jewish Studies, Ecology and Sustainability."
Part of the Gender Seminar Series
The purpose of this research seminar is to offer a platform of exchange for students, doctoral students in particular, and researchers whose work includes a gender perspective. During this monthly series, researchers have the opportunity to discuss their work, meet peers from different disciplines at the Graduate Institute, as well as interact with other students, guest speakers and faculty members.
See the programme of this semester's Gender Seminar Series here.
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