Makan Lah!

What is the driving question this module will explore?

How can we represent the culture of Malaysia and Sabah with photography, writing, and food.

Module Summary

Students immersed themselves in learning about the cultural beliefs, practices and traditions that shape modern Sabah, while learning the arts of cooking, writing, and photography. They applied the techniques learned from their experiences to construct their own dishes. The blog posts from their experiences documented cuisines and cultures in Sabah. During three weeks of the module, students rotated between different cultures: Kadazan-Dusun, Murut, Bajau, Chinese, Malay, & Indian. Their learning experiences included hands-on sessions, field-trips, and guest speakers in addition to photography and blogging workshops. During the WeXplore week, students were immersed in the Rainforest environment of Borneo as they made connections between the resources of the land and the food that they eat.

MANDATORY LTs

1c.1 – Transmitting an intended message to audiences effectively (including written, verbal, and nonverbal behavior, language, and strategies/delivery techniques).
4a.3 – Identifying research-relevant questions from a variety of perspectives.
6c.3 – Understanding present-day repercussions of historical events.
8b.3 – Demonstrating an understanding of who owns natural resources and comparing how different methods/frameworks handle the property of natural resources.

CREDITS

Culinary Arts 0.5, Photography 0.5

Summative Assessment

  1. Throughout the term (in pairs): students will be writing food blog posts for each distinct culture they experience (six in total). Students will work in  paired teams to create finely polished blog posts. They will be free to “specialize” in a specific domain if they want. For instance, one student might wish to focus on photography while the other hones writing skills. Students will be studying The Rice Lover as an exemplar for their blog posts. Each post should cover the history of the dish, the meaning of the ingredients, the particulars of the cooking techniques, photographs of process and product, and, finally, the recipe itself.
  2. At the end of term (individually): each student will create an original own recipe which integrates their home culture with the Malaysian cuisine they have learned about. These recipes will be curated into a final recipe book. Examples may include Nasi Lemak with Pescado con Coco instead of Rendang or Hinava ceviche.
  3. At showcase (our end of term celebration in module groups): students will work in their module groups, to cook our Showcase meal. They will coordinate within and among these groups to provide a balanced meal representative of their time in Malaysia.