Beyond Alternative: Exploring the Potential for Autonomous Food Spaces

Abstract: Much attention has been given in recent years to the rise of alternative food networks However, the very concept of “alternative” has come under increasing scrutiny, as theorists grapple with what is meant by alternative and whether the concept adequately captures the key components of such a diverse range of networks and communities. Drawing on poststructuralist political economy, I propose the concept of autonomous food spaces as one possible lens for approaches food‐provisioning activities that situate food within the broader context of non‐capitalist communities seeking to build relationships of mutual aid and non‐market exchanges. I use the examples of a radical collective kitchen, Food Not Bombs, and a community‐supported agriculture operation, Vegetables Unplugged, to explore the potential for autonomous food spaces as part of a broader “politics of possibilities” beyond capitalism.     

Medieval Britain in 1967

Abstract

Almost 180 years of scholarship on the Lewis chessmen have given us a solid foundation of understanding, primarily based upon their art-historical analysis. Taking a more interdisciplinary approach (combining elements of art history with archaeology and history), this paper focuses on some over-looked themes — primarily the archaeological, gaming and political contexts of the 12th- and 13th-century North Sea world — and some more familiar themes but in a new light. We suggest a more fluid composition and function of the gaming hoard, with at least four sets of chessmen from the same workshop conceivably made for use in Lewis, possibly in the early 13th century.     

Exploring Bristol’s historic glass industry: archaeological investigation at the Soap Boilers’ and Hoopers’ glasshouses,and the Powell & Ricketts’ Bottle Works,Avon Street,Glass Wharf,Bristol

SUMMARY: In 2007, extensive archaeological excavation was undertaken on an important post-medieval glassworking site at Glass Wharf, Bristol. The excavation exposed remains relating to a series of glassworks dating between the early 18th and early 20th centuries and, significantly, uncovered a sequence of five glass-melting furnaces and covering structures, which together reflect wider changes in glassmaking technology throughout these periods. Detailed scientific analysis of glassworking debris from the excavation has also been undertaken, which provides much-needed detail on the development of recipes and raw materials used in bottle manufacture during the 18th and 19th centuries.