This page has links to resources for professors on teaching courses on peace and justice. -- 11/19/03
| Recommendations for Teaching Peace and Justice in Your Existing Courses |
| Classes offered by CSUN UPJ members. |
Syllabi
|
The new issue of Rethinking Schools is now online and includes "Teaching About The War", a special collection of articles and resources for teachers. The collection is available at: http://www.rethinkingschools.org/war. "Teaching About the War" includes background readings, lesson plans, ready-to-xerox maps of the Middle East (both with and without country names in place) and extensive lists of anti-war organizations and web-based resources. Most materials are available in PDF format for easy downloading and copying. To submit material for this collection, contact us at rethink@execpc.com. Leon Lynn |
| Letter to President Koester from Faculty of the Chicano/a Studies Department |
1. You do NOT need to know it all yourself.
Utilize other faculty, students, staff. Invite speakers into your classes. Use
this listserv to get advice and feedback. Make your class a place of research
and discovery!
2. Re-design/alter assignments, course content, etc. to address peace
and justice
This can occur at various levels. At a basic level, faculty can make minor alterations
to existing assignments to shift them towards P&J topics. Consider adding
P&J films and readings or inviting speakers to your classes. At a more integrated
level, faculty can try to re-design courses and assignments to directly feed
into the needs of these issues on-campus and in the community. See also below
(resource-building in classes).
3. Integrate resource-building into classes
There is much research that needs to be conducted and resources that need to
be created/compiled to facilitate social change. Consider using the classroom
as a place for research. Design assignments in which students create needed
research and compile needed resources. For example, any economics or public
policy folks might consider a cost-benefit analysis of the ROTC issue.
4. Consider historical context and perspectives
Connect current events with recurring issues throughout history of imperialism,
war and racism, etc. In addition, consider connecting current events to a history
of racism and deficit models within traditional academic disciplines.
5. Move education towards activism.
In the classroom, address what we can do with what we know. Who can we share
our knowledge with?
Consider activism broadly. Raise the issues whereever people can -- at school,
work, with family, with friends
6. Use courses to develop students' skills in research and activism for the long-term fight....
7. Make connections with community
Community including CSUN, San Fernando Valley, Southern California, national,
and global communities.
