Conversations & Cocktails is a free online public lecture series hosted by the UT Humanities Center, which showcases the original research of our distinguished University of Tennessee arts and humanities faculty. Our monthly talks give you the opportunity to hear about fascinating and groundbreaking work in the arts and in fields such as philosophy, history, and literary studies. Presentations are 30-40 minutes long and are designed for the general public. A spirited question-and-answer discussion follows each presentation.

On October 27, Maria Stehle, professor of German, will present on "Witches' Brew, Food, and Insatiable Bodies."

ZOOM REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED: https://tiny.utk.edu/CC_Stehle2022

About the talk:
Accounts of witchcraft from early modern times often tie witches to food: poisoned milk, destruction of crops, or the greedy brewing of deadly potions. This talk explores how contemporary, pop-cultural depictions of witches rewrite these well-known stories. In films, literature, and TV shows, witches confront myths around healthy eating and of gendered and racialized ideas of purity and beauty. Some examples of witches and food I explore in this talk are rebellious and decidedly feminist; others continue to perpetuate stereotypes of witches brewing evil.

About the Speaker:
Maria Stehle is a professor of German and co-chair of the interdisciplinary program in cinema studies at UT. Her publications include three monographs entitled Ghetto Voices in Contemporary German Cultures (2012), Awkward Politics: The Technologies of Popfeminist Activism (with Carrie Smith, 2016), and Precarious Intimacies: The Politics of Touch in Contemporary European Cinema (with Beverly Weber, 2020). She has also published various book chapters, and articles in the fields of German, media, film, and gender studies. She is currently finishing her new book entitled Plants, Places, and Power: Towards Social and Environmental Justice in Contemporary German Literature and Film and has begun research on a new project on depictions of witches and food in popular culture.

If you enjoy this series and would like to support future UT Humanities Center programming, please visit this link to learn about giving opportunities.