In recent decades, the brewing industry in the United States has enjoyed phenomenal growth. Thanks to the movement known as microbrewing, or "craft" brewing, the country now counts more than 8,700 breweries. In 2017, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History launched the American Brewing History Initiative, a project to build a new collection of objects, documents, and oral histories related to homebrewing and craft beer in the U.S. This presentation will discuss the museum's efforts to research, collect, and exhibit the stories and histories of beer. It will also share some of the collection's highlights while exploring the opportunities and challenges involved in documenting a subject of the recent past and present.
Theresa McCulla, Ph.D., is Curator of the American Brewing History Initiative at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, where she is building a collection of objects, documents, and oral histories related to homebrewing and craft beer in the United States. Previously, she worked for Harvard University Library, Harvard University Dining Services, and the Central Intelligence Agency. McCulla earned a Ph.D. in American Studies and an M.A. in History from Harvard University, a Culinary Arts Diploma from the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts, and a B.A. in Romance Languages from Harvard College. Her writing has been published in Quaderni Storici, Gastronomica, The Washington Post, Smithsonian magazine, and other venues. She is writing a book about the history of food and race in New Orleans.
When?
Wednesday, 16 June 2021, from 14.00 to 15.00
Where?
Online - Webex.
If you want to participate, please send an e-mail to vanessa.napolitano@uni.lu to receive the link.