On March 12, 2025, four International Institute National Resource Centers (NRC) partnered with the Muskegon and Kent intermediate school districts for a day of professional learning for 50 secondary social studies, world history, and geography teachers. The participating centers were the African Studies Center, the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies, and the Center for South Asian Studies.

As part of the Muskegon and Kent school districts’ first annual West Michigan Social Studies Collaborative, the professional learning initiative titled “Seeds, Sustenance, and Spaces: Spicing up World History and Geography Through the Lens of Food and Foodways” allowed grade 5–12 social studies, world history and geography educators to enhance their teaching practices, share innovative strategies and build a network of passionate professionals committed to advancing social studies education.

Opening the program was veteran world history teacher Amy Perkins from Lakeshore High School in Stevensville, Michigan. She modeled lesson ideas to engage students in discussions of how diets reflect migration, conquest and resilience through interactive activities like sensory-rich “buffet” stations representing global cuisine, a critical reading and discussion activity and project ideas to explore the topic in more depth. She also shared related resources and funding opportunities for overseas professional development targeted for educators.

Four scholars from the International Institute area studies centers followed with in-person presentations that highlighted not only regional cuisine and indigenous agricultural methods but also the intersection of colonialism, migration, and historical events that have shaped foodways around the world from ancient history to the present.

Norah Aziamin Asongu, an anthropologist from Cameroon and U-M African Presidential Scholar (UMAPS), shared the colonial and indigenous foodways of Cameroon’s cuisine and methods of preserving heirloom seeds for future generations.

Geoff Emberling, a research scientist at the U-M Kelsey Museum of Archaeology and lecturer of Middle East Studies, offered some food for thought related to the agricultural revolution in ancient Mesopotamia and images of the world’s first recipes.

Caitlyn Marentette, a Masters in International and Regional Studies student, fast-forwarded through history to the 20th-century to frame the causes of the 1943 Bengal famine and its effects on dietary habits for the survivors.

Fime de la Fuente, a scholar with the U-M Perfecto Lab for Agroecology, outlined the historical importance of maize in Mexico and current challenges to preserve local food sovereignty by combating genetically modified maize in Mexico today.

Darin Stockdill, instructional and program design coordinator for the Center for Education Design, Evaluation and Research, closed the session by modeling lesson ideas for engaging students in global learning through food and drink. He also shared possible approaches for building curriculum based on the materials provided.

Kristen Renes, a social studies consultant for the Muskegon Intermediate School District, noted that due to the broad range of coursework required for pre-service teachers, social studies teachers do not always enter the profession with deep knowledge in the content area. Additionally, the ongoing teacher shortage has led to teachers flexing into new subject areas or, in some cases, schools relying on long-term substitutes or emergency certifications to fill staffing gaps.

The professional learning day was funded in part by Title VI grants from the U.S. Department of Education. Without this funding, the Title VI center scholars and presenters, such as Stockdill and Perkins, would not have been able to offer the content-rich lessons and case studies.

Educators share how the workshop inspired fresh ideas for their classrooms and teaching approaches. Watch it here.