I love collaborating with others to create events and experiences, consulting with creatives to bring their dreams to life, and conducting research to support filmmakers, legal teams, and everything in between.
To reach me, please fill out this contact form or send me an email to julia@root-kitchens.com
Events
I host residencies and workshops online and in person, as well as fermentation and food waste workshops for corporate and university groups or as standalone classes with my community partners.
I have extensive experience in libraries and museums, including running engaging cultural heritage events, conferences, and in crafting exhibits and related programming.
There is no limit to the kinds of events I am open to being a part of, so if you think I would be a good fit for yours, please reach out!
Research
My primary focus is on food studies and food history, and my work is rooted in the belief that food is a powerful tool for human connection and memory. This appears in my research, my teaching (both academic instruction and skills workshops), and in my latest art projects.
Most of my academic research focuses on how we engage with change in various contexts, and my work cuts across several disciplinary areas in the humanities and social sciences.
Much of my research has a historical focus, and my doctoral research focused on change in 20th century libraries and on theory testing and theory building. I also explore contemporary issues, including social media use in times of change and uncertainty, like political uprisings and natural disasters, as well as information-seeking behavior.
My academic research requires me to explore and effectively utilize a wide range of sources, from archival materials and centuries-old books to scholarly journals, social media posts, and databases. And I have to think expansively across disciplines and methodologies in order to do my interdisciplinary work effectively.
As a food historian, and in my research and creative consulting, I draw on this extensive research background, my experience teaching others how to do research, and my experience collaborating with researchers in everything from Computer Science to English Literature to Psychology, to bring an expansive, yet firmly rooted, approach to my work.
I draw on my extensive and interdisciplinary experience to provide deeply-researched opinions for legal cases, particularly in matters related to food, history, as well as historical materials.
You can learn more about my expertise at this link.
I have published three food history books, including Nautilus Book Award silver medal–winning Our Fermented Lives (Storey Publishing, September 2022), which was also nominated for Georgia Author of the Year. I also wrote Afternoon Tea: A History (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, April 2019), and Modernizing Markham (CandleLight Press, October 2012).
I’m currently writing two more books for Storey, The Essential Food Preserving Handbook and The Magic of Fermentation Oracle Cards.
I publish a weekly food-focused newsletter, Root: Historic Food for the Modern World, and I lead writing workshops and offer writing coaching.
I have also written over a dozen peer-reviewed, scholarly articles in History and in Library and Information Science. You can see those on my CV.
I am always open to considering new writing projects, collaborating with other writers, and running writing workshops.
Julia C. Skinner 