The symposium, entitled 1492 – Chocs, Rocks & Pox, will examine the foods, drugs and diseases that changed history through an event known as the Columbian Exchange. The Columbian Exchange gets its name from the 1492 voyage by Christopher Columbus to the Americas. This first contact between the Old World and the New World had a significant impact on the ecology, culture and agricultural practices of societies around the globe.
Guest speakers from La Trobe University’s Institute of Latin American Studies and the History and Legal departments will look at the impact of the cultural exchange on both European and Latin American cultures.
Several films on Cuban and Jamaican food will be included in the program. The day will culminate with a fiesta at which participants can enjoy drinks, food and Latin American music.
The symposium will take place at the Visual Arts Centre from 1 pm to 8 pm on Saturday 22 October.
ENDS
PHOTO/INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY
What? Free Public Symposium: 1492 – Chocs, rocks & pox: Foods, drugs & diseases that changed history through the Columbian Exchange between the Americas & the rest of the world
When? 1 pm – 8pm, Saturday, October 22, 2011
Where? Visual Arts Centre, 121 View Street Bendigo (opposite the Bendigo Art Gallery)
Media enquiries
Emma Robertson, Ph 03 5444 7612, E emma.robertson@latrobe.edu.au
Or
Tom O’Callaghan, Ph (03) 5444 7415 F (03) 5444 7526 M 0408 900 469 E t.ocallaghan@latrobe.edu.au
