DECADOCS is a pioneering research and training programme enabled by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks (MSCA-DN) aimed at reinterpreting the concept of decadence. Traditionally associated with decline, decadence will be explored through new perspectives, focusing on sustainability, transnationalism, and sensoriality. The programme offers tailored intersectoral training in collaboration with museums, archives, galleries, and other partners, reinforcing its scientific and social impact.
‘Defining, Displaying and Representing Decadent Food and Drink from the 19th to the 21st Century’
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This project proposes a diachronic analysis of menus and the symbolic dimensions of social dining, from the literary Decadence of the late 19th century to the Futurist avant-garde in early 20th century Italy, and its echoes in contemporary practices. By examining menus, literary texts, manifestos, and performative events (such as literary banquets and Futurist culinary happenings), the research will trace shifts and continuities in the cultural construction of gastronomy and its entanglement with art and ideology—ranging from the pursuit of rare tastes to the celebration of modernity, from aesthetic individualism to collective utopias, from linguistic identity to nationalist expressions. Ultimately, the project aims to understand how gastronomy becomes an artistic and ideological language, from J.-K. Huysmans and Gabriele d’Annunzio to Marinetti’s Manifesto of Futurist Cooking (1930), and how its legacy informs present-day artistic and political practices.
Objective: Use substantial archives of 19th to 21st century French menus and related artifacts as a benchmark of transnational decadent food and develop a communication strategy targeting the food and drink industry and the general public.
The project offers tailored intersectoral training in collaboration with two associated partners (European Institute for the History and Culture of Food in Tours, France) and the Syndicat Général des Vignerons de Champagne (Champagne Winegrowers Professional Union) in Epernay (France) reinforcing its scientific and social impact.
Expected results:
R.1: a curated digital resource of menus and artifacts from the 19th to the 21st centuries;
R.2: a resource of related writings enabling the definition of decadent food along 10 criteria;
R.3: a communication strategy for promoting decadent food to the food and drink industry;
R.4: food tasting sessions to present decadent menus to the representatives of the food and drink industry and influencers.
Tasks include:
- Archival research
- Translation and digitalisation of archival material (database)
- Writing of a PhD dissertation
- Compiling research findings into scientific presentations, publications
- A secondment time at the European Institute for the History and Culture of Foods (Tours) to work with an archivist
- Organising an exhibition of a specific fund (from IEHCA, Tours)
- A secondment at Syndicat général des vignerons de la Champagne to collaborate with and the communications officer
- Organising food tasting sessions to present decadent menus to the representatives of the food and drink industry and influencers.
Supervisors
Robert Lukenda JGU
Benoit Verdier URCA
DECADOCS 