Back to the Foodture

One way to keep the U.S. History survey course from going stale is to teach emphasis classes. This allows you to cover the necessary survey objectives whilst focusing on a particular area or theme. I have taught emphasis on women, environmental justice, and now, food.

The West Houston Institute is a great leader at Houston Community College, especially when it comes to bringing professors and staff together for multidisciplinary projects. I was thrilled to be approached for the “Back to the Foodture” project.

Split into teams, we each devised our own tactics. My team - comprised of science faculty, a makerspace technician, a pastry chef, and myself - chose to focus on bread. Now that the semester is in full swing, I will be sharing more about how this partnership looks and functions, as well as specific lessons I’m teaching in regards to food.

This has also given me a great reason to do some “research” when it comes to baking and eating!