The two lessons in this unit engage students in a study of the literary salon and its impact across the Mediterranean in the age of print journalism. While the salon tradition was firmly in place in France by the seventeenth century, it also has antecedents in the Arab world (the mujalasat). The nineteenth and early twentieth century salons investigated in this lesson were hosted by women in Cairo, Aleppo, Damascus, Jerusalem and Beirut, as well as in Paris and Milan. While they met in the privacy of a woman’s home they were not sex-segregated; prominent men also attended the sessions.
Most students are acquainted with the importance of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in world history, but know little of the world’s third largest ocean, the Indian Ocean, which for centuries provided a medium of exchange among the world’s great civilizations. In this lesson students focus on famous travelers in the Indian Ocean during the Medieval Era (300-1450 CE).
Secondary Curriculum created by Pulitzer Center Education, around research conducted by Katherine Zoepf is a fellow at the New America Foundation. Her first book, “Excellent Daughters: The Secret Lives of Young Women Who Are Transforming the Arab World,” comes out this month. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, New York Observer, International Herald Tribune, Chronicle of Higher Education, The New York Times Magazine and elsewhere.
Important Questions and Answers about the Syrian Refugee Crisis for Educators along with an in-depth list of complimentary content resources to support student inquiry. A website created by the Middle East Policy Council
Podcast, lesson plans and background information for educators created by the The National Council for History Education “Backstory: Islam and the United States.”
University Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Arizona has resources for K-12 teachers: Their lesson plan page has a SEARCH ENGINE, so that you can search by grade, subject, and content area - simultaneously. Go to: http://cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/lessons There is everything from an awesome 3rd-5th grade lesson on "Water in the Desert" to middle and high school lessons in English, History, Geography, Current Events, etc....
Azlan Tajuddin, Associate Professor and Chair of the Sociology Department, La Roche College
Recomended Readings:
Tajuddin, A. 2012. "Malaysia in the World Economy (1824-2011): Capitalism, Ethnic Divisions, and Managed Democracy." Lexington Books; Lanham, MD. pp 55-82.
Osborne, M. 2004. "Southeast Asia: An introductory history." St. Leonards, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin. pp 1-39.
Osborne, M. 2004. "Southeast Asia: An introductory history." St. Leonards, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin. pp 129-154.
