The laws that govern and the social norms that regulate society are not always fair, legal, moral, or ethical. What is a person to do about all this injustice? What are the hazards of righting injustices or changing social norms? And what are the dangers of doing nothing?

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Students read and annotate Antigone, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” and Pygmalion.
Students write a literary analysis showing the effect of social class or the law on a character’s life.

GUIDING QUESTIONS

These questions are a guide to stimulate thinking, discussion, and writing on the themes and ideas in the unit. For complete and thoughtful answers and for meaningful discussions, students must use evidence based on careful reading of the texts.

How do social class and legal institutions shape literary characters’ lives (and presumably our lives)?
How does social class affect a person in dealing with the law (protect a person, hurt a person)?
How is social class determined in America and in other places in the world?

BENCHMARK ASSESSMENT: Cold Read

During this unit, on a day of your choosing, we recommend you administer a Cold Read to assess students’ reading comprehension. For this assessment, students read a text they have never seen before and then respond to multiple-choice and constructed-response questions. The assessment is not included in this course materials.

This class explores the foundations of the environmental justice movement, current and emerging issues, and the application of environmental justice analysis to environmental policy and planning. It examines claims made by diverse groups along with the policy and civil society responses that address perceived inequity and injustice. While focused mainly on the United States, international issues and perspectives are also considered.

This class explores the foundations of the environmental justice movement, current and emerging issues, and the application of environmental justice analysis to environmental policy and planning. It examines claims made by diverse groups along with the policy and civil society responses that address perceived inequity and injustice. While focused mainly on the United States, international issues and perspectives are also considered.

This seminar introduces students to basic principles of environmental justice and presents frameworks for analyzing and addressing inequalities in the distribution of environmental benefits and burdens from the perspectives of social science, public policy, and law.

This seminar introduces students to basic principles of environmental justice and presents frameworks for analyzing and addressing inequalities in the distribution of environmental benefits and burdens from the perspectives of social science, public policy, and law.

Social injustice occurs every day all over the world. In this lesson, students research a few historical examples of social injustice, including the Holocaust, the Trail of Tears, and Japanese internment.

Students will learn what protest is through song and an image of historic protest in Oregon. They will also explore ways that people can speak out against injustice and what can lead to protest. 

Students will learn about who benefitted from enslavement in America and explore the economic roots of slavery. Students will explore how they can use their words, actions, or creativity to confront injustice they see or experience. 

The “Own It!” Handbook for Adults & Teens is a step-by-step guide to a fourteen topic after-school program, such as a Boys & Girls Club, or an adult Community Building group. For adults, it seeks to bridge divides and  explore what Americans have in common. For teens, it is a transformative after-school, trauma-informed enrichment program. It nurtures academic skills, personal growth and leadership. For all, it uses history to connect our past to our future, as part of the Own Your History® (OYH) Collection. Our inheritances from family history and the American experience provide the starting point for our personal journeys.  Our individual stories are part of a complex American history. We each can choose consciously to write our life story and work for a greater future. Own It! is not “school” but enhances students’ engagement in being creative, making things happen, and  achieving goals. Its mission is to help them step up and enrich their lives, especially by understanding that they live in history.

The students will analyze the rise of violent activities against African Americans after the Civil War which lead to the addition of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. Begin with a KWL Jamboard (also attached, in a PDF format) which also includes an activity in analyzing primary resources about lynching.  Students will then develop their own 5-day trip itinerary using the Negro Green Book (see the list of free PDF versions for various years) as a travel reference guide. The objective of the lesson is to have the students understand the perils faced by US citizens of color during the Jim Crow Era and how prevalent the dangers were in some areas of the United States at that time. The teacher may wish to use a formative assessment in the form of an exit ticket (see attached). 

The “Own It!”Handbook for Ages 11-16 is the guide book for a transformative after-school, trauma-informed enrichment program. It provides a series of lessons & activities that nurture academic skills, personal growth and leadership. It uses history to connect our past to our future, as part of the Own Your History® (OYH) Collection.Our inheritances from family history and from living in the United States provide the starting point for our personal journeys.  Our individual stories are part of a complex American history. We each can choose consciously to write our life story and work for a greater future.  But Own It! is not “school” and it differs from traditional approaches to history. Own It! helps students learn more about themselves, as well as their community and the country. Own It! enhances students’ engagement in being creative, making things happen, and  achieving goals. Its mission is to help them step up and enrich their lives, especially by understanding that they live in history.

In this lesson, students will study Morgan’s speech to better understand the civil rights movement and the value of speaking out against injustice.

Courses in the Topics in Social Theory and Practice series feature in-depth considerations of such topics with reflections on their implications for social change.
The topic for Fall 2014 is race and racism. We will consider a variety of arguments for and against the biological and / or social “reality” of race—taking into account purported races other than those defined by the black / white binary and the intersection of race with other social categories. We will then consider a number of accounts of racism, contemporary manifestations of racism, and potential counter-measures.