Position Vagrant: A Social History of Carlsberg Special Brew
Standing
Undergraduate
Type of Proposal
Oral Research Presentation
Challenges Theme
Open Challenge
Your Location
The University of Windsor
Faculty
Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Faculty Sponsor
Jamey Essex
Proposal
For the fortunate among us, it would not be a stretch of the imagination to suggest that we mostly view our food as little more than consumables that offer nutritional sustenance. But examining the social history of food provides a fascinating insight into the social, political, and cultural implications of the products that we might, or might not, choose to consume. With this in mind, I chose to investigate Carlsberg’s infamous Special Brew beer, a product so stigmatized in the United Kingdom that it became a vehicle for policy change in the mid 2000s.
This presentation contextualizes the drink’s origins within Britain’s political elite and demonstrates the social impacts and legal outcomes that accompanied the product’s fall from grace, now synonymous with homelessness and anti-social behaviour. This talk also gives an account of my personal experiences with Special Brew while explaining how Britain’s changing awareness to social issues can be uniquely linked to the product.
Position Vagrant: A Social History of Carlsberg Special Brew
For the fortunate among us, it would not be a stretch of the imagination to suggest that we mostly view our food as little more than consumables that offer nutritional sustenance. But examining the social history of food provides a fascinating insight into the social, political, and cultural implications of the products that we might, or might not, choose to consume. With this in mind, I chose to investigate Carlsberg’s infamous Special Brew beer, a product so stigmatized in the United Kingdom that it became a vehicle for policy change in the mid 2000s.
This presentation contextualizes the drink’s origins within Britain’s political elite and demonstrates the social impacts and legal outcomes that accompanied the product’s fall from grace, now synonymous with homelessness and anti-social behaviour. This talk also gives an account of my personal experiences with Special Brew while explaining how Britain’s changing awareness to social issues can be uniquely linked to the product.