This activity aims to facilitate classroom discussion of President Obama's remarks on July 19 about race and the Trayvon Martin case.

This seminar is made possible through a collaboration between Radius and the Philosophy section of MIT. This course provides an opportunity to explore a wide range of ethical issues through guided discussions that are geared to equip students for ongoing reflection and action. Lectures and discussions with guest faculty, as well as attendance at on-and off-campus events, expose students to ethical problems and resources for addressing them. The course also encourages students to work collaboratively as they clarify their personal and vocational principles.
Topics vary each term and reflect the interests of those enrolled.

This lesson covers personal narratives from victims and descendants and highlights how the American government forced Japanese Americans and the Aleuts of Alaska into incarceration camps under President Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066. It additionally covers the forced removal process, conditions and lives in the camps, and the eventual release of prisoners. The lesson analyzes the incarceration of Japanese Americans and Aleuts as a violation of their constitutional rights. Students discuss examples of incarceration and connect instances of incarceration with current social and political events pertaining to the concept of “families belong together.”

2021 Social Science Standards Integrated with Ethnic Studies:
Civics and Government: 8.2, 8.5, 8.8, HS.1, HS.9
Historical Knowledge: 6.20, 6.21, 8,22, HS.52, HS.64
Historical Thinking: 7.25, 8.31, HS.67
Social Science Analysis: 6.24, 6.28, 7.27, 7.30, 8.33, 8.36, HS.71, HS.72, HS.73, HS.74

During the 1950s, the United States was gripped by McCarthyism, a period of accusations against individuals and groups for treason without just evidence. Heightened by fears of communist spies hidden among the U.S. population, Senator Joseph McCarthy gained prominence after presenting a list of possible Communist Party members working within the U.S State Department. This lesson discusses how McCarthyism abused the First Amendment rights of Americans, how it targeted Chinese Americans during the Korean War, and the modern day racial profiling of people in the name of national security.

2021 Social Science Standards Integrated with Ethnic Studies:
Civics and Government: 8.2, 8.8, 8.10, HS.1, HS.2, HS.6, HS.9, HS.10
Historical Knowledge: 8.25, HS.52, HS.61, HS.63, HS.64, HS.65
Historical Thinking: 7.25, 8.31, HS.67, HS.68, HS.69
Social Science Analysis: 7.30, 8.33, 8.36, HS.71, HS.72, H.73, HS.74, HS.78

Racial profiling occurs when law enforcement agents impermissibly use race, religion, ethnicity or national origin in deciding who to investigate. This lesson focuses on racial profiling. Students learn what the term means, discuss why it matters, conduct research and present their insights.

Asian Americans have been in the U.S. for over 170 years yet common stereotypes and myths persist. Even today, Asian Americans are often regarded as “perpetual foreigners” or the “model minority.” Unfortunately, the Asian American experience is overlooked, forgotten, or misrepresented in history texts and in the K-12 curriculum. The COVID-19 pandemic has evoked a disturbing surge in racist and violent acts targeting Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) that has its roots in ignorance, xenophobia, and mistrust. These actions have galvanized the AAPI community into action and promoted solidarity between AAPI and other groups.

2021 Social Science Standards Integrated with Ethnic Studies:
Civics and Government: 5.1, HS.2, HS.9
Geography: 5.13
Historical Knowledge: 6.21, 8.25, HS.52, HS.60, HS.61, HS.64, HS.65
Historical Thinking: 7.25, 8.31, 8.32, HS.69
Social Science Analysis: 5.26, 5.27, 5.28, 5.29, 6.24, 6.26, 6.27, 6.28, 7.29, 7.30, 8.34, 8.36, HS.71, HS.72, HS.73, HS.74, HS.75, HS.76, HS.77, HS.78

Courses in the Topics in Social Theory and Practice series feature in-depth considerations of such topics with reflections on their implications for social change.
The topic for Fall 2014 is race and racism. We will consider a variety of arguments for and against the biological and / or social “reality” of race—taking into account purported races other than those defined by the black / white binary and the intersection of race with other social categories. We will then consider a number of accounts of racism, contemporary manifestations of racism, and potential counter-measures.

The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 marked a turning point in American policies toward immigration, privacy, and the ways South Asian Americans were perceived and treated after. Students will learn about the various ways South Asian Americans have experienced disproportionate and targeted racial profiling, hate crimes, and other acts of discrimination. They will also learn about the ways in which South Asian Americans responded to the 9/11 attacks and the aftermath, providing insight into how immigrant communities are often caught between the pressures of representing themselves in a way that appeals to the expectations of the status quo, and the desire to practice their culture and traditions in a way that allows them to fully embrace their cultural and ancestral identity.

2021 Social Science Standards Integrated with Ethnic Studies:
Civics and Government: 5.1, 6.4, 7.5, 8.8, 8.9, HS.2, HS.6, HS.9, HS.10, HS.11
Geography: 5.13, HS.51
Historical Knowledge: 5.22, 6.20, 6.21, 8.22, 8.25, HS.52, HS.64, HS.65
Historical Thinking: 5.25, 7.25, 8.31, 8.32, HS.68
Social Science Analysis: 5.26, 5.27, 5.28, 6.24, 6.26, 6.27, 7.27, 7.29, 8.33, 8.34, 8.36, HS.72, HS.73, HS.74, HS.75, HS.76, HS.78

Students will look at social medias and what identities are crafted in those formats, both for social media celebrities and their own digital footprints. This lesson is part of a media unit curated at our Digital Citizenship website, "Who Am I Online?"

Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor 120,000 Japanese Americans and 881 Aleuts were incarcerated in camps for over three years during WWII. Nonetheless Japanese Americans and Native Americans had shown their loyalty to the United States in various ways. The no-no boys who responded ‘no’ to a loyalty questionnaire, the ones who served in the U.S. military, the legal challengers who tried to uphold the U.S. Constitution, and those who fought for redress and repatriation are all loyal Americans. They fought for democracy, the rule of law, and to defend their country, America. They are all loyal Americans.

2021 Social Science Standards Integrated with Ethnic Studies:
Civics and Government: HS.1, HS.2, HS.9
Historical Knowledge: HS.52, HS.61, HS.64, HS.65, HS.66
Social Science Analysis: HS.71, HS.73, HS.74, HS.75

In small groups and in a fishbowl discussion, students consider how race affected the trial of George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin.