Since starting my Ph.D. journey at UC Davis, I have collaborated with Prof. Daniela Gutiérrez-Flores to enhance medieval and early modern Spanish literature classes using multisensory pedagogical approaches. The goal is to help students connect with the literary production of the time, one that often feels culturally distant, through tangible activities and familiar settings. For example, we organised a workshop where students nixtamalized corn to make their own tortillas after reading excerpts from the Popol Vuh and Chronicles of the Indies, we explored Fray Luis de León’s “Oda a la vida retirada” (Ode to a Quiet Life) in the Arboretum, and performed skits in the style of Calderón de la Barca’s small dramatic piece Mojiganga de los guisados.



Multisensory initiatives over the years. From left to right: nixtamalization workshop, lesson in the Arboretum, skit performance. Image Credit: The Author
The Reconstruction Project
In Fall 2024, Prof. Gutiérrez-Flores taught Survey of Spanish Literature to 1700, a course that explores the multicultural formation of Spanish culture through early literary texts. In this course, I wanted to explore the contrast between a traditional classroom model (reading, lecture, discussion, worksheet) with a hands-on experiential approach. This time, that meant asking students to turn their kitchens into classroom spaces.
In the first of two linked lessons, students read and analyzed “Décima y coplas al chocolate” by Diego Hurtado de Mendoza. This playful poem compares the seductive power of women with that of chocolate, which the lyrical voice describes as a “dulce brebaje” or sweet potion (Hurtado de Mendoza, line 54), and which is described as being intoxicating and overwhelming. This poem opened the door to explore chocolate’s journey from a suspect substance—viewed by early European colonizers as mysterious and dangerously invigorating—to a fashionable obsession, particularly among elite Spanish women, some of whom refused to stop drinking it even during mass, despite threats of receiving excommunication!
For the second lesson, we moved to the kitchen. We decided to have students cook from home, either solo or in small teams. I selected Juan de la Mata’s “Vizcochos de chocolate – Otra manera” from his 1747 Arte de repostería. At the beginning of the session, students were provided with the recipe —they had already been informed of the tools and ingredients they would need— and divided into Zoom breakout rooms to modernize the recipe by restructuring steps and estimating quantities and times needed. We all reconvened to discuss the surprises and challenges, and to evaluate potential solutions.


Selected recipe from Arte de repostería. Image Credit: Biblioteca Digital Hispánica.
Then, we rolled up our sleeves and started baking. I hosted the session like a DIY cooking show: “Baking Early Modern with Sara.” I remember that we were collectively stumped by one detail: the recipe called for twice as much sugar as flour. When students asked why, I wasn’t sure. The mystery lingered until the next day, when I brought the cake to a screening of Like Water for Chocolate. There, a former student of mine majoring in Food Science offered a possible explanation: sugar was likely used as a preservative, especially in the absence of refrigeration. It was a lightbulb moment—and a great reminder of how learning often continues beyond the classroom.
Once the cake was in the oven and with just a couple of minutes of class remaining, I invited students to share their initial thoughts. To build community, I created a Canvas forum where students could share photos of their cakes and reflections on the experience.
Student’s Perceptions
To better assess the impact of the lesson, I asked students to complete a short survey. While some noted logistical challenges —like commuting home to use a kitchen—, most found the activity fun and unique. Others reported appreciating learning culinary skills and engaging with recipes in Spanish firsthand. Several students noted how the physicality of “making” deepened their connection to the material: “I liked it and I think that it helped me think about these recipes in a more real way” and “It was very fun, especially because I could do something physical while still reflecting on the Spanish ways of the past.” One student shared being surprised at how much one could learn about a “mundane” activity such as cooking: “I particularly enjoyed that, even though it is a cooking activity, there is a lot of history embedded in it, and we learned a lot.”
Some reflected on the literary text itself: “While baking, I thought a lot about the verses of the poem, and I was able to imagine the lyrical voice when I was adding the cocoa powder to the mix.” Others offered powerful insights on food and colonialism: “It was a unique lesson like I had never experienced before. I realised that the foods that I have at home reflect a history of colonialism and peoples that I have inherited. Now I can see a more clear connection to the topics we covered in class than before. It is humbling… and delicious.” Finally, several students highlighted the sense of community the lesson fostered. Whether cooking together in person or connecting via Zoom, they valued seeing their classmates in a new light and learning together in a shared, informal setting.
Implications of the Approach
Designing non-traditional lessons requires careful planning and flexibility, especially when logistical hurdles arise. But the results—deeper engagement, critical thinking, and stronger student bonds—make it worth the effort. This project reinforced what I have come to believe: hands-on, sensory-based learning, a form of “making”, can help students connect emotionally and intellectually with distant literary worlds. When students become “makers” through cooking, smelling, tasting, and collaborating, they not only grasp content more vividly, they also experience history and literature as something alive, embodied, and relevant to their lives. That is why these approaches deserve a place in the classroom, especially in academic settings where learning is still too often confined to the visual and textual materials alone.
Sara de Blas Hernández is a Ph.D. candidate in Spanish Linguistics at UC Davis. Her research explores the intersection of language, food, and pedagogy. One strand of her dissertation focuses on how food and food-related practices can enrich second and foreign language learning. The other examines experiential approaches to teaching early modern Spanish literature, working closely with faculty in literary studies, to help students engage more deeply with historical texts and overcome linguistic barriers.
References
Hurtado de Mendoza, Diego. “Décima y coplas al chocolate”. Obras poéticas, edited by Rafael Benítez Claros, Gráficas Ultra, 1947.
Mata, Juan de la. Arte de repostería: en que se contiene todo género de hacer dulces secos, y en líquido … con una breve instrucción para conocer las frutas, y servirlas crudas, y diez mesas, con su explicación. Biblioteca Digital Hispánica, 1747.

















