(Re)digesting Communism

This article discusses how cultural food studies have contributed to the historiography of twentieth-century European communism “from below”. It offers an overview of the extant research: of its main themes and methodological discussions. However, it also identifies major gaps. It argues that this sub-field offers an enormous, so far unexploited potential to provide insights into the construction of gender roles, national identity and state attempts to control consumption, among other topics. The article also outlines the contribution of this volume to the different strands of the historical debate on how to re-conceptualize communism as experience.

Publication year:2021

Accessibility:Open