TEACHING THE MIDDLE EAST
This site, developed by the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, offers learning modules for four different topics:
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ISLAM WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE MIDDLE EAST
PBS: GLOBAL CONNECTIONS
PBS has a site devoted to topics in the Middle East along with lesson plans. Themes include US Foreign Policy, Religious Militancy, Roles of Women, Stereotypes, Natural Resources, and Nation States. lesson include cartoons, maps, and primary sources,
MIDDLE EAST GEOGRAPHY
Students can practice their knowledge of Middle Eastern geography with these interactive maps on this site from Teachers First.
NEW YORK TIMES LEARNING NETWORK
The Times Learning Network has a page of resources on a variety of topics from analyzing US foreign policy in Iran to exploring misconceptions about the Islamic world.
THREE WAYS TO TEACH MIDDLE EAST ISSUES
Charles Kurzman, a professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and co-director of the Carolina Center for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Civilizations, suggests three topics to help students better understand the Middle East:
- Israel and Palestine
- The islamic State
- The dismal outcomes of the Arab Spring
Here is a link to a Arab Spring assignment I copied a few years ago asking students compare the French revolution to the Arab Spring in one of the Middle eastern countries. It could be adapted to compare he Arab Spring in two Arab countries like Egypt and Tunisia.
Here is NY Times essay called "The Tension Between America and Iran, Explained."
MEDIA CONSTRUCTIONS OF THE MIDDLE EAST
You can find a series of lesson about the Middle from Ithaca College's Web site, Look Sharp. These resources cover stereotyping of Arab people, the Arab/Israeli conflict, the war in Iraq and militant Muslim movements. Students will learn core information and vocabulary about the historical and contemporary Middle East issues that challenge stereotypical, simplistic and uninformed thinking, and political and ethical issues involving the role of media in constructing knowledge, evaluating historical truths, and objectivity and subjectivity in journalism.
Another part of LookSharp includes resources for News Accuracy and Credibility.
Below, you can see a shot 5 minute clip the politics of maps. A teacher leads a class through the analysis of two maps of the Palestine and Israel in the 1940's.
How the US Stole the Middle East
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Johnny Harris is an American filmmaker, journalist and YouTuber, currently based in Washington, D.C. Harris produced and hosted the Borders series for Vox. Harris launched the company Bright Trip in 2019 to help people travel smarter with video-based travel course
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The Arab Spring 10 Years Later
FRONTLINE
This PBS site lists all the Frontline videos by subject. Categories include biography, business/economy, diversity, foreign affairs, and media literacy.
In this 4o minute episode, Charlie Rose talks to the UAE ambassador to the United Sates and the former CIA Director, Michael Morell about Qatar and Iran. It's a fascinating episode and helps us to understand much of what is happening.
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Rethinking the Region: New Approaches to Curriculum on
the Middle East
This curriculum was developed by the British Council and the Social science Research council.
This curriculum includes 5 lessons to help World History high school educators teach about the Middle East and North Africa in their classrooms. This project grew out of a need to contextualize the MENA region in a more nuanced manner. Curricular themes include Women & Gender, Plural Identities, Empire & Nation, Political & Social Movements, and Arts & Technology.
Some of these lessons are terrific and absolutely worth using.
This curriculum includes 5 lessons to help World History high school educators teach about the Middle East and North Africa in their classrooms. This project grew out of a need to contextualize the MENA region in a more nuanced manner. Curricular themes include Women & Gender, Plural Identities, Empire & Nation, Political & Social Movements, and Arts & Technology.
Some of these lessons are terrific and absolutely worth using.
TEACH THE MIDDLE EAST
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POWERPOINT OVERVIEW OF MIDDLE EAST: MYTHS &
REALITIES
This powerpoint gives a broad overview of the Middle East fromUniversity of Arizona Center for Middle Eastern Studies
Here are the notes/explanations to go with the powerpoint
Here are the notes/explanations to go with the powerpoint
THE MIDDLE EAST EXPLAINED
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The Middle East Explained is a video series aimed to launch students on to new Middle East-related topics, inspire creative thinking, and encourage discussion.
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UNDERSTANDING US & IRANIAN RELATIONS
This is an awesome summary of US & Iranian relations.
There has been much discussion about tensions between the United States and Iran. Dr. Charles Kurzman gives an overview of the complex relationship between the two countries.
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Iranian Revoltuion
Watch Azar Nafi on PBS Roots, the Long Way Home, and learn about the Iranian Revolutuion. Ask students these questions:
- In what ways do immigrants have to straddle two worlds?
- How might Azar Nafisi have experienced this?
- How was staying in the country after the Iranian Revolution an act of political resistance for Azar Nafisi?
- Explain what Azar Nafisi means when she says, “They kill you when they ask you not to be yourself.”
FAMiliarization: Facts and Figures
This collection of resources from the Defense Language Institute includes fact sheets about the history, culture, and language of countries around the world.
FILM/ ARABS IN HOLLYWOOD
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Resources from Another Teacher
Column by Rachel Ottywww.pbs.org/education/blog/teaching-islam-deconstructing-myths-and-clarifying-truths
- Global Connections: The Middle East – Connecting Questions
- Crash Course: Islam, the Quran, and the Five Pillars All Without A Flamewar
- What Drives Islamophobia? American Muslims: Fact vs. Fiction
- Guidelines for Teaching About Religion in K12 Public Schools
- Exploring Muslim Understandings of Islam
- Welcome to Canada - A documentary about a Syrian refugee and the history of Islam
WORLD SURVEY DATA
The World Values Survey (www.worldvaluessurvey.org) is a global network of social scientists studying changing values and their impact on social and political life, led by an international team of scholars, with the WVS association and secretariat headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.
This is a really cool site. Pick a series of years. then pick an issue or value, like importance of religion, then pick the countries for which you want the data, then click to show the data. For example, I chose.middle eastern countries and the US and asked about importance of religion. In the Middle east, on average 8- to 90% thought religion was very important while only 40% of Americans thought it very important.
This is a really cool site. Pick a series of years. then pick an issue or value, like importance of religion, then pick the countries for which you want the data, then click to show the data. For example, I chose.middle eastern countries and the US and asked about importance of religion. In the Middle east, on average 8- to 90% thought religion was very important while only 40% of Americans thought it very important.
The Arab Spring from Al Jazeera
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