Reading Like a Historian, Unit 12: Cold War Culture/Civil Rights

In this unit, students explore social, cultural, and political events that helped define America in the decades following the Second World War. The lesson on the Civil Rights movement revolves around the question: Why did the Montgomery Bus Boycott succeed? In another, students compare speeches by JFK and John Lewis regarding the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the Women in the 1950s lesson plan, students use secondary sources and popular images to explore whether "the happy housewife" was reality or perception. Finally, students will encounter opposing views on whether the Great Society was successful, and what led many Americans came to oppose the Vietnam War.

Material Type: Lesson

Edo: Art in Japan, 1615Đ1868

This program surveys two centuries of art and culture in the city now known as Tokyo. Ceramics, screens, textiles, prints, paintings, and armor are among the materials discussed.

Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Reading, Teaching/Learning Strategy, Textbook

Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes, 1909Đ1929

This video "Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes, 1909Đ1929: When Art Danced with Music" celebrates one of the most dazzling cultural enterprises of the twentieth century. The Ballets Russes, established in 1909 by the indefatigable impresario Serge Diaghilev, revolutionized the art of ballet. Combining Russian and Western traditions with a healthy dose of modernism, the company thrilled and shocked audiences with its powerful fusion of choreography, music, design and dance. Though it was based in Paris, the company toured throughout Europe, the United States and South America. Its influence continues to be felt today. A 28-minute video is available to watch online. A 58-minute version is available to borrow.

Material Type: Lecture

Reading Like a Historian, Unit 9: World War I and the 1920s

The World War I and 1920s unit explores political, social, and cultural tensions that gripped a rapidly modernizing America. Lessons ask historical questions about key events: Why did the U.S. enter the First World War? Why did Congress reject the League of Nations? What caused the Palmer Raids? Were those who criticized U.S. involvement in World War I anti-American? Why was Marcus Garvey a controversial figure? What was life like for Mexican and Mexican-American laborers during the 1920s? Why was the Butler Act controversial? What led to the 18th Amendment? Included is an Opening Up the Textbook lesson on the causes of the 1919 Chicago Race Riots.

Material Type: Lesson

Perspectives on Ocean Science: Scripps Before the War: The Men, the Science, and the Instruments that Went to Sea before 1940

Join Scripps archivist Deborah Day as she takes us back to the great days of seagoing oceanography before World War II. Through an exceptional collection of photos, letters and logbook entries, Ms. Day will recount the early struggles of Scripps Institution, the technology and culture of ocean science a century ago, and the traditions engendered by that culture that endure at Scripps today. (44 minutes)

Material Type: Lecture

MR DE KLERK: OPENING OF PARLIAMENT 1990

F.W. de Klerk's speech delivered at the opening of the 1990 session of the Parliament of South Africa in which he announced sweeping reforms that marked the beginning of the negotiated transition from apartheid to constitutional democracy.

Material Type: Primary Source, Reading

Ceramics: A Vessel into History -- Lesson 2

This lesson is part of a sequential unit. Students are tested on what they learned about the history of ceramic forms in "Ceramics: A Vessel into History -- Lesson 1." They start work on a personal clay vessel that has a specific use or meaning in their contemporary culture, which could be discerned through study by future archeologists and art historians.

Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Lesson Plan

Universe of Music, Fall 2007

An introduction to the infinite universe of music from its origins to the present, this course investigates the role of instruments, culture, myth and science in the evolution of music. Illustrations through the medium of the World Wide Web present the concept of music as both communication of ideas and expression of feelings in diverse musical traditions of the world.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Full Course, Homework/Assignment, Reading, Syllabus, Unit of Study

Author: Professor David Patterson

Ceramics: A Vessel into History -- Lesson 4

This lesson is part of a sequential unit. Students hold a critique session to evaluate the work of their peers using the criteria for value and meaning they developed in "Ceramics: A Vessel into History -- Lesson 1."

Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Lesson Plan

Aime Cesaire and Derek Walcott

Jason Allen offers a comparative discussion of two important Caribbean poets and playwrights, Aime Cesaire and Derek Walcott, to emphasize the impact of Caribbean literature upon the postcolonial world. By using biographical and historical detail to support his analysis of some of Cesaire and Walcott's key texts, Allen offers insight into what it means to be a Caribbean writer - looking back to a colonial past, and forward to a global future. This audio recording is part the Interviews on Great Writers series presented by Oxford University Podcasts.

Material Type: Lecture

Author: Jason Allen, Dominic Davies

Al-Bab (Portal)

Al-Bab is a portal website designed to introduce non-Arabs to Arab culture by providing links to news sources, country profiles, articles, and a blog on Middle East current events. There are also specific links related to learning Arabic: dictionaries, language classes, textbooks, and other information pertaining to the study of Arabic. A free e-book, The Birth of Modern Yemen, is available for download.

Material Type: Reading

Ancient Greek and Roman Talk Show

Students use the model of the infamous Bill and Ted from the feature film "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" to "go back in time" to learn about deities in the ancient world. After researching, studying, and viewing reproductions of artworks that depict gods and goddesses, students transport their chosen deities to the modern world as characters they write about in a mock television talk-show script, which they enact for the class.

Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Lesson Plan

Arabic I

This is a textbook for beginning Arabic language learning. The textbook is divided into twelve lessons. Each lesson focuses on an activity and common theme to introduce the basics of Arabic. Each lesson starts with a short video, which you'll be asked to watch. To help you understand the video, each lesson also includes a transcript (in English), a list of vocabulary (with audio clips), and language and grammar notes.

Material Type: Full Course, Textbook

Arabic in Jordan

This site contains numerous audio, and video files, grouped by topic, of subjects speaking Jordanian colloquial Arabic. There are also a few images and informational links interspersed throughout the site. Each video is available for download and accompanied by an Arabic transcript and an English translation. Videos are based on every day topics like greetings, farewells, shopping, and transportation.

Material Type: Lecture

Arabic Poetry: Guzzle a Ghazal!

The Bedouins of ancient Arabia and Persia made poetry a conversational art form. Several poetic forms developed from the participatory nature of tribal poetry. Today in most Arabic cultures, you may still experience public storytelling and spontaneous poetry challenges in the streets. The art of turning a rhyme into sly verbal sparring is considered a mark of intelligence and a badge of honor. Students will learn about the origins and structure of Arabic Poetry.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan, Reading

Author: Individual Authors

The Arabic Student

This is a blog that links to videos, music, and other information about studying and learning Arabic. The blog provides comments on information provided. For instance, there is a link to an episode of The Simpsons in Arabic while providing sentences and translations of some of the more complicated phrasing.

Material Type: Reading

Argumentative Writing/Religions of the World Unit

This 14 day Unit Plan integrates the Utah Core Standards for Language Arts and for Reading and Writing in History/Social Studies with the existing Utah Social Studies Standards. The students read, research, draw conclusions, and write beginning level argumentative essays comparing/contrasting major world religions. For a more thorough summary see the Background For Teachers section.

Material Type: Lesson Plan, Unit of Study

Artists on the Cutting Edge: Variations on a Sorrow Song - The Music of Liu Qi-Chao & Jon Jang

Liu Qi-Chao celebrates his collaboration with Chinese American jazz pianist/composer Jon Jang. (26 minutes)

Material Type: Lecture

Aswaat Arabiyya

Aswaat Arabiyya is an archive of 245 videos in Arabic, listed by difficulty level and accompanied by glossaries and four worksheets each that focus on every aspect of listening comprehension. Selections come largely from Arabic media, with some cultural presentations by native speakers. Videos cover the entire Arabic-speaking world and include MSA and different dialects. Materials are designed to be used both as in-class activities and homework assignments. Videos can be slowed down.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Homework/Assignment, Interactive, Lecture

Behind the Masks: Exploring Culture Through Art and Poetry

Students research mask-making from various cultures, highlight the masks' connections to cultural practices, compose poetry to reveal their understanding, analyze their own culture, and create personal masks and poetry.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan, Unit of Study