Syllabus: Course Description, Goals, Structure
Class Description:
This is a high school-level introductory class on modern (20th and 21st century) struggles for civil rights in the United States. Building on the work of Teaching Tolerance (a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center), the class is designed around these 5 essential practices for teaching the civil rights movement:
- Educate for empowerment.
- Know how to talk about race.
- Capture the unseen.
- Resist telling a simple story.
- Connect to the present.
- (Essential practices link: https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/publications/civil-rights-done-right)
Goals:
To have a historic overview of the struggles for civil rights in the United States through different communities
To begin to build a history of understanding and connection across these struggles
To begin an online toolkit of multimedia resources for intersectional struggle for yourself as a high school student
To develop critical thinking, reflection, and writing skills
To realize/know/deepen/document why you are learning about these issues
To create something artistic in response to what you have learned
Assignments:
Structure:
Each week there will be a list of a few resources to explore on your own. There is a variety of resources so you can can try for a podcast and a documentary one week, or an online website and a book chapter the next. Try for at least 2-3 shorter resources and one longer resource each week. Discussion on these resources is always available.
Each week you’ll write a reflection, building up to the midterm and final projects.
After Week One/Unit One, choose any of the suggested resources or assignments to deepen your knowledge of an area or history.
Calendar