Due to unforeseen circumstances, this event has been canceled, but we plan to reschedule for Fall 2026.
Join us on Friday, April 17th from 2:00-300pm in the Hatcher Gallery Event Space or via Zoom for the first Longone Lecture, a biennial lecture series exploring the history of food and drink in the United States. We are delighted to welcome our first Longone speaker, Rebecca Sharpless, Professor of History at Texas Christian University. Dr. Sharpless writes on the intersections of food, women, and work in the American South.
Biscuits, cornbread, hot rolls, mile-high cakes, steaming cobblers — southern baking holds a towering place in the realm of American cookery. Founded on Native American, English, and African traditions, and raised in a hot, humid climate, southern baking developed in distinctive ways. We'll talk about how southerners over four centuries have shaped their baking around corn and flour and made it their own.
Light refreshments will be served and copies of Professor Sharpless' recent books, Grain and Fire: A History of Baking in the American South and People of the Wheat: Culture and Cultivation in North Texas will be available for purchase.
Janice Bluestein and Daniel T. Longone founded and shaped the Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive, a world class collection of culinary history, which resides in the University of Michigan Library's Special Collections Research Center. The Longones have passed away, but their collection offers a legacy of learning and research. The Special Collections Research Center is pleased to honor the Longones and their commitment to sharing culinary history through the biennial Longone Lecture.
