When the invitation came to reimagine the traditional academic lecture as something non-hierarchical and experiential, we knew we were in. Led by University of Virginia professor Emily Wettstein, we and our collaborators turned the literal tables, transforming the speaker-audience format into a multi-course dinner party. Instead of the lecture format, the pedagogical content became experiential, integrated into the act of eating itself. UVA’s annual Howland Memorial Lecture, which traditionally takes place in an auditorium, became a long outdoor dinner table, with seats for the department’s students, faculty, and staff alike. 

For our course, dessert (eaten first), we guided participants through a dream sequence of an eating experience, rooted in a pedagogical philosophy that prioritizes sensory, embodied forms of knowing. Participants were invited to explore their dessert through smell, touch, and taste, playfully getting to know the contents of their plate. Based on their explorations, the final prompt was to compose the perfect bite of food -- then feed it to your neighbor. The dessert place setting included a postcard inscribed with Nocturnal Medicine’s pedagogical principles.

As the dinner unfolded, collaborators MK Smaby and Maria Villalobos Hernandez wove narratives about colonization, labor, and economy of food. In the post-meal glow, discussion flowed on about learning, practice, and what it means to breathe life into new visions for education.