Location: Fürstenzimmer (Schloss Hohentübingen) | Burgsteige 11 (Schloss), 72070 Tübingen April 4–5, 2013
Organized by Achim Spiller, Bernhard Tschofen, Sarah May and Katia Laura Sidali.
Within a multidisciplinary perspective on Geographical Indications (GI) the workshop will cover a broad range of topics such as origin and tradition, specialties’ protection and marketing, and the creation and conservation of culinary heritage. With such discourse different questions arise, different methods become important, and different approaches are needed.
Focus will be placed on the interrelations between terroir and culinary heritage, and the categories of space and place will
need to be considered in discussion of the specification of a product by its spatial origin. Here, local tradition and knowledge, and their transmission and instrumentalization, become especially important. These discussions raise questions such as:
How are taste and place connected? Which implicit knowledge is instrumentalized and sold with a GI-product? Where can
effects of the product’s ennobling in status of culinary heritage be found?
Particular emphasis will be placed on the effects of GI-processes within a conservation-constitution perspective. This emphasis raises another series of questions. How do products and regional awareness change? Are there influences on the market chances or on trust in the EU-instrument? Which differences have to be detected between regions with established or relatively new protection systems?
Discussing a European legal instrument, our workshop aims at detecting governance structures which underpin the GI-system as well as meta-cultural practices of transnational GI-regimes. What kind of interests and conflicts emerge? How does the establishment of GIs diverge between actors, regions, and countries? Which effects on culture and economy are tangible? How do claims to common right and common good complement the GI’s exclusive character?
In an effort to support multidisciplinary discussion, dialogue, and active participation, the presentations will be held for no longer than 20 minutes. We hope to encourage all those attending to contribute to the joint discussion.
The prelimary program is available here. If you wish to participate in the workshop, we kindly ask you to register with Sarah May.