Every year when I teach identity politics I ask the same question on the first day of class. Rather than the usual icebreakers, I ask: “How does your family / your culture cook rice?” 1/

Rice is a familiar ingredient across the globe. Almost every student has something to say. Plus I love hearing how different families prepare it... 2/

But asking students to share their experience with something where perspectives vary so widely is useful for pedagogical reasons. 3/

It models for the class early on that our answers to some questions will be different depending on the background we have when we enter the conversation. It gets the class to think about their relationship with culture. 4/

I use this little question about rice to transition to a more substantive discussion about how the same topic can mean many things to different people, and the way we engage with difference matters (which is basically the message of the course)

My favorite session of the year.