{"id":13219,"date":"2026-01-08T11:35:25","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T17:35:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=13219"},"modified":"2026-01-08T11:35:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T17:35:25","slug":"unwrapping-chocolate-students-explore-the-complex-global-history-of-chocolate-from-mesoamerica-to-today","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/unwrapping-chocolate-students-explore-the-complex-global-history-of-chocolate-from-mesoamerica-to-today\/","title":{"rendered":"Unwrapping chocolate: Students explore the complex, global history of chocolate from Mesoamerica to today"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo:<\/a>
Sophomore biology major Andrew Smerz, right, enrolled in History Professor Gita Pai\u2019s chocolate-themed history course for his love of chocolate. But he soon learned chocolate\u2019s story stretches far beyond flavor, linking La Crosse to a much larger global history.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

When you think of chocolate, what comes to mind?<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A creamy bite of a Hershey bar? A decadent layered dessert?\u00a0Perhaps the\u00a0whimsical world of Willy Wonka?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Those are the kinds of responses\u00a0History<\/a>\u00a0Professor Gita Pai hears on the first day of her World History 110 course \u2014 a class built entirely around the history of chocolate.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0a course that\u00a0fills quickly\u00a0every time\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0offered, thanks in part to the irresistible topic.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy try and study something I have no interest in when I can learn about something as globally known and loved as chocolate?\u201d says UWL sophomore Max Wilkens, a finance major.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But Wilkens and his classmates soon discover that beneath chocolate\u2019s sweet exterior lies a complex and often darker global past. When Pai asks the same opening question eight weeks into the semester, students use words like\u00a0<\/span>currency, exploitation, medicinal value,\u00a0slavery<\/span><\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Mesoamerica<\/span><\/em>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt goes from this basic,\u00a0American\u00a0view to a much more global understanding,\u201d Pai says. \u201cMy goal in all history courses is to open students\u2019 eyes and broaden their perspective.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Students learn that chocolate\u2019s story spans thousands of years. Cacao residue appears on pottery from ancient Olmec, Maya and Aztec civilizations in Mexico and Central America. In Mesoamerica, chocolate held immense value \u2014 serving as currency, a sacred food and drink of the gods, and a marker of wealth and status.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a lot of history I didn\u2019t know at all going into this class,\u201d says sophomore Andrew Smerz. \u201cI\u2019ve learned a lot \u2026 things I never would have imagined.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Smerz says it was especially interesting to see how ideas about chocolate changed over time, including debates over its health benefits. Its use as a medicinal substance resurfaces repeatedly in history, including in the 17th century when physicians widely promoted it as a cure-all.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately, he says,\u00a0the course has changed how he thinks about everyday foods.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLook at all the places where they grow chocolate \u2014 their lifestyles revolve around harvesting it, and how they perceive it is different than how we see it,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re\u00a0just\u00a0the consumers. That has stood out to me.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For Wilkens, the biggest revelation was chocolate\u2019s deep connections to global power and economics.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI never knew it was held so highly as an item of power, then converted into more of an economic opportunity as scarcity decreased,\u201d he says.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Uncovering La Crosse\u2019s chocolate past<\/h3>\n
\"\"
Funke Candy Co. second floor,\u00a0ca. 1905-1910. Image courtesy of Murphy Library Special Collections\u00a0and\u00a0Area Research Center.\u00a0<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Most recently, students have turned their attention to La Crosse\u2019s own chocolate history by examining 100-year-old artifacts \u2014 advertisements, receipts, maps, photographs, newspaper\u00a0clippings\u00a0and original candy box wrappers \u2014 from the former Funke Candy Factory. Despite its small-town location near Riverside Park,\u00a0Funke\u2019s chocolates were wildly popular and widely available throughout the country during the 1920s.\u00a0<\/span>With\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span>Great\u00a0Depression, the company declined, and its downtown building now houses the Charmant Hotel.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To complete the project, students visit the\u00a0Murphy Library Special Collections\u00a0and\u00a0Area Research Center<\/a>, where they work hands-on with these primary sources. In addition to learning about chocolate, they gain insight into how historians conduct research, analyze evidence, and build meaning from archival materials, explains Laura Godden, assistant professor at Murphy Library, who\u00a0assists\u00a0with the project.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe project feels organic because we are using research from archives, not online, which gives it a unique feel and sense of authenticity,\u201d Wilkens says.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\"\"
An original Funke Candy Co. wrapper from Murphy Library Special Collections.<\/em><\/em>
\nPai says she designs assignments that push students beyond traditional reading and writing. This project challenges them to examine real objects and create their own interpretations.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI want them to see that history is more than names and dates,\u201d she says. \u201cTo look at what is available locally \u2014 what is down the street \u2014 and realize La Crosse was part of that world history.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Smerz says exploring Funke\u2019s history made the past feel surprisingly close.<\/span>
\n\u201cIt is interesting how Funke was right here in La Crosse, and it wasn\u2019t that long ago,\u201d he says.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For many students, connecting a lesser-known city like La Crosse to global historical themes is eye-opening, Godden adds.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne of my favorite things about activities like this is that it helps show students that the place they are is\u00a0part of\u00a0a\u00a0larger history \u2014 and therefore, by extension, they are, too,\u201d says Godden.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Written by UW-La Crosse<\/p>\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/www.uwlax.edu\/news\/posts\/unwrapping-chocolate\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When you think of chocolate, what comes to mind?\u00a0 A creamy bite of a Hershey bar? A decadent layered dessert?\u00a0Perhaps the\u00a0whimsical world of Willy Wonka?\u00a0 Those are the kinds of responses\u00a0History\u00a0Professor Gita Pai hears on the first day of her World History 110 course \u2014 a class built entirely around the history of chocolate.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0a course […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":13220,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[104],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-13219","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-la-crosse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/13219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13219"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=13219"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=13219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}