This course aims to get students thinking about politics and policy as a part of their everyday life. We treat politics as a struggle among competing advocates trying to persuade others to see the world as they do, working within a context that is structured primarily by institutions and cultural ideas. We’ll begin by developing a policymaking framework, understanding ideology, and taking a whirlwind tour of the American political system. Then, we’ll examine six policy issues in depth: health care, gun control, the federal budget, immigration reform, same-sex marriage, and energy and climate change.

Asian American histories or contributions are often left out when students study the development of the nation up to 1850, which could inaccurately lead students to believe that Asian American communities did not exist during this time period. In fact, Asian Americans were here at the formation of the United States. Specifically, Filipino Americans settled in the U.S. as early as 1763, and Filipino sailors had arrived in California as early as 1587. In 1763, Filipino sailors settled in a Louisiana bayou, and became the first Filipino immigrants to settle in the United States, known as “Manilamen.” Along with enslaved people and other people of color, the Filipino immigrants built a small fishing village called Saint Malo. These Manilamen made many contributions to Louisiana and the U.S., including revolutionizing the shrimping industry.

2021 Social Science Standards Integrated with Ethnic Studies:
Geography: 5.13, 8.20
Historical Knowledge: 8.27, 8.28
Historical Thinking: 8.31, 8.32
Social Science Analysis: 4.21, 4.24, 5.26, 5.27, 5.28, 6.24, 6.27,6.28, 7.29, 7.30, 8.36

Everyday we are bombarded with the word “global” and encouraged to see globalization as the quintessential transformation of our age. But what exactly does “globalization” mean? How is it affecting the lives of people around the world, not only in economic, but social and cultural terms? How do contemporary changes compare with those from other historical periods? Are such changes positive, negative or simply inevitable? And, finally, how does the concept of the “global” itself shape our perceptions in ways that both help us understand the contemporary world and potentially distort it? This course begins by offering a brief overview of historical “world systems,” including those centered in Asia as well as Europe. It explores the nature of contemporary transformations, including those in economics, media & information technologies, population flows, and consumer habits, not through abstractions but by focusing on the daily lives of people in various parts of the world. This course considers such topics as the day-to-day impact of computers in Silicon Valley and among Tibetan refugees; the dilemmas of factory workers in the US and rural Java; the attractions of Bombay cinema in Nigeria, the making of rap music in Japan, and the cultural complexities of immigrant life in France. This course seeks not only to understand the various forms globalization takes, but to understand its very different impacts world-wide.

Hitherto it had gone by the original Indian name Manna-hatta, or as some still have it, ‘The Manhattoes’; but this was now decried as savage and heathenish… At length, when the council was almost in despair, a burgher, remarkable for the size and squareness of his head, proposed that they should call it New-Amsterdam. The proposition took every body by surprise; it was so striking, so apposite, so ingenious. The name was adopted by acclamation, and New-Amsterdam the metropolis was thenceforth called.
—Washington Irving, 1808

In less tongue-in-cheek style, this course examines the evolution of New York City from 1607 to the present. The readings focus on the city’s social and physical histories, and the class discussions compare New York’s development to patterns in other cities.

"Migrations forcées au Canada" se veut un répertoire complet de ressources d’enseignement et d’apprentissage en lien avec les déplacements vers le Canada et au sein même du pays, en passant par la colonisation et l’esclavage, la traite des personnes, l’apatridie, la protection des personnes réfugiées et la réinstallation. Chaque section offre une compilation de ressources multimédias pour présenter les enjeux clés aux personnes étudiantes et chercheuses, ainsi qu’au grand public.

This is a problem-based learning project that studies immigration. A driving question, grabber, directions, rubric are provided.

This project requires students to research how immigration affects certain factors of a community.

This is a problem-based learning assignment with a driving question and a correlating activity.

The goal of this course is to offer a general introduction to 20th and 21st century literature and cultural production about Modern Mexico. Emphasis will be placed on the way intellectuals and artists have presented the changes in Mexico City’s urban life, and how these representations question themes and trends in national identity, state control, globalization, and immigration.

Bar chart of countries ranked by their net migration flow as of 2005. While the highest net in-flow is generally into large rich countries (USA, Spain, Germany etc.) Afghanistan had the second highest net inflow thanks to returning refugees.

The movement of people and goods is an important part of the New York State Global History and Geography Curriculum. It is listed as one of the themes that are emphasized in the core curriculum. Students are expected to understand why people migrate and what the impact of migrations has been on people, nations, and regions. Recently, the PBS WIDE ANGLE documentary series created two programs that relate to the movement of people. 'Border Jumpers' (2005) documents migration between countries in Africa, and 'To Have and Have Not' (2002) deals with migration from rural to urban areas in China. By studying these two migrations, students can deepen their understanding of events and trends in Africa and China since World War II. A study of these two migrations can also provide students with a framework for reviewing other migrations included in the core curriculum and help students to prepare for possible thematic essays on the Regents exam. The purpose of this lesson is to show the reasons why people are migrating in Africa and China today and how these migrations are impacting those regions. In addition, students will be motivated to critically analyze national immigration policies and to consider the relevance of national borders in a world that is experiencing rapid globalization. As a culminating activity, students will outline a response for a sample Regents thematic essay question and will be assigned to write the essay for homework.

Minneapolis College, the most selected higher education destination of students from all Minneapolis Public High Schools, is located downtown, nestled between the hustle of Hennepin Avenue and the green spaces of Loring Park. As a part of the Minnesota State system of colleges and universities, Minneapolis College most serves those students who are least likely to go to college. With three-quarters of the student body composed of those underrepresented in higher education, the hallways are filled with recent immigrants, those seeking to learn English, members of communities with the highest unemployment and incarceration rates in the state, veterans, those of low socioeconomic status, seekers of diversity, and those who wish to serve them. Collected here are their stories, stories of overcoming, coming up, perseverance, pride, and power in the face of depressed opportunity and systemic oppression.

A People’s History of New York City traces the history of NYC through the experiences of Immigrant and Migrant communities. By tracing common threads between these groups the City’s modern relevance, as well as its present tensions is unveiled. Highlighted are economic and social struggles for equity, justice and liberation from the marginalized groups who allowed for the creation of arguably the most significant metropolis of the present era.

This course examines the history of the United States as a “nation of immigrants” within a broader global context. It considers migration from the mid-19th century to the present through case studies of such places as New York’s Lower East Side, South Texas, Florida, and San Francisco’s Chinatown. It also examines the role of memory, media, and popular culture in shaping ideas about migration. The course includes optional field trip to New York City.

In “Politics of the New South,” Maria Hinojosa revisits Clarkston, Georgia, featured in a previous episode and notable for its immigrant population. It’s three days before an election in which three former refugees are running for city office for the very first time.

This collection uses primary sources to explore Puerto Rican migration to the US. Digital Public Library of America Primary Source Sets are designed to help students develop their critical thinking skills and draw diverse material from libraries, archives, and museums across the United States. Each set includes an overview, ten to fifteen primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide. These sets were created and reviewed by the teachers on the DPLA's Education Advisory Committee.

This seminar looks at key issues in the historical development and current state of modern American criminal justice, with an emphasis on its relationship to citizenship, nationhood, and race/ethnicity. We begin with a range of perspectives on the rise of what is often called “mass incarceration”: how did our current system of criminal punishment take shape, and what role did race play in that process? Part Two takes up a series of case studies, including racial disparities in the administration of the death penalty, enforcement of the drug laws, and the regulation of police investigations. The third and final part of the seminar looks at national security policing: the development of a constitutional law governing the intersection of ethnicity, religion, and counter-terrorism, and the impact of counter-terrorism policy on domestic police practices.

This course provides an introduction to the issues of immigrants, planning, and race. It identifies the complexities and identities of immigrant populations emerging in the United States context and how different community groups negotiate that complexity. It explores the critical differences and commonalities between immigrant and non-immigrant communities, as well as how the planning profession does and should respond to those differences. Finally, the course explores the intersection of immigrant communities’ formation and their interactions with African Americans and the idea of race in the United States.

This unit explores perspectives on the central issues of the Progressive Era. Students examine the middle class reformers' attitudes towards immigrants; draw inferences about historical context by analyzing documents that relate to segregation of San Francisco schools in 1906; and question the reliability of Jacob Riis's photographs as accounts of the past. The unit includes cognitive modeling lessons - one that compares the perspectives of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Dubois, and one that juxtaposes muckracking journalist Lincoln Steffens with political boss George Plunkitt. The Background on Woman Suffrage prepares students for the Anti-Suffragists lesson plan on why Americans opposed woman suffrage.