Pig Work in the Early Middle Ages (Labour and Humanities Seminar)

In the early medieval West, pigs were the only livestock raised exclusively for their meat. But they were no mere commodity. Pork production depended on pigs' own laboring of converting almost any sort of organic matter into meat that humans loved. They were also smart and curious animals that were difficult to house and herd. And in the process of managing their pigs, humans of all ranks – swineherds, landowners, and lawmakers – bent their own practices and policies in order to accommodate them. 

Hosted jointly with the Centre for Diaspora & Transnational Studies (CDTS) with the support of the Faculty of Arts & Science, the Labour and Humanities Seminar brings distinguished scholars in the humanities working on themes related to labour, globalization and employment relations to the University of Toronto to present and discuss their work.