The University of Iowa Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research and College of Education teamed up to develop free eighth grade science curricula on land use and climate science, in response to Iowa’s grade level alignment of the middle school Next Generation Science Standards.

Primary author Dr. Ted Neal, clinical associate professor of science education, led a team of graduate and pre-service teaching students and CGRER scientists to develop the material. They grouped standards, resources and lesson material into six bundles, each designed to engage Iowa’s middle schoolers with local data and information on relevant topics like athletic concussions and agriculture.

These lessons are built on NGSS principles and put learning in the students’ hands with hands-on activities for groups and individuals. Kids will have ample opportunity to get curious, generate questions and lead themselves to answers.

This course examines Israeli identity using a broad array of materials, including popular music, film, documentaries, and art, in addition to academic historical writings. Topics include Israel’s political system and society, ethnic relations, settlement projects, and the Arab minorities in the Jewish state. Students also discuss whether there is a unique Israeli culture and the struggle for Israel’s identity.
Preference is given to students in the MISTI MIT-Israel program.

This subject investigates the special relation of women to several musical folk traditions in the British Isles and North America. Throughout, we will be examining the implications of gender in the creation, transmission, and performance of music. Because virtually all societies operate to some extent on a gendered division of labor (and of expressive roles) the music of these societies is marked by the gendering of musical repertoires, traditions of instrumentation, performance settings, and styles. This seminar will examine the gendered dimensions of the music - the song texts, the performance styles, processes of dissemination (collection, literary representation) and issues of historiography - with respect to selected traditions within the folk musics of North America and the British Isles, with the aim of analyzing the special contributions of women to these traditions. In addition to telling stories about women’s musical lives, and studying elements of female identity and subjectivity in song texts and music, we will investigate the ways in which women’s work and women’s cultural roles have affected the folk traditions of these several countries.

It's Your Paycheck! is designed to introduce personal finance content. Course participants learn about a variety of personal finance topics including the link between education and income, budgeting, the benefits of saving, and credit reports. These learning modules will help participants make sense of W-2s, W-4s, pay -day Loans and APRs in an interactive online format. It's Your Paycheck! consists of nine individual programs that can be used together or individually to enhance personal finance learning.

This course explores Japan’s role in world orders, past, present, and future. It focuses on Japanese conceptions of security; rearmament debates; the relationship of domestic politics to foreign policy; the impact of Japanese technological and economic transformation at home and abroad; alternative trade and security regimes; Japan’s response to 9/11; and relations with Asian neighbors, Russia, and the alliance with the United States.

This course surveys both cinematic and literary representations of diverse eras and aspects of Japanese culture such as the classical era, the samurai age, wartime Japan and the atomic bombings, social change in the postwar period, and the appropriation of foreign cultural themes, with an emphasis on the modern period. Directors include Akira Kurosawa and Hiroshi Teshigahara. Authors include Kobo Abe and Yukio Mishima. Films shown have subtitles in English. Taught in English.

This course is designed for students seeking a fundamental understanding of Japanese history, politics, culture, and the economy. “Raw Fish 101” (as it is often labeled) combines lectures, seminar discussion, small-team case studies, and Web page construction exercises, all designed to shed light on contemporary Japan.

This course covers medieval Japanese society and culture from the twelfth to the nineteenth centuries, when political power rested largely in the hands of feudal warriors. Topics include religion (especially Zen Buddhism); changing concepts of “the way of the warrior;” women under feudalism; popular culture; and protest and rebellion. Presentations include weekly feature films. Assigned readings include many literary writings in translation.

This course explores how our views of Jewish history have been formed and how this history can explain the survival of the Jews as an ethnic/religious group into the present day. Special attention is given to the partial and fragmentary nature of our information about the past, and the difficulties inherent in decoding statements about the past that were written with a religious agenda in mind. It also considers complex events in Jewish history – from early history as portrayed in the Bible to recent history, including the Holocaust.

Short Description:
The Justice eReader presents Landmark Supreme cases in their social and historical context and examines their impact on criminal justice, law, culture and politics in the United States.

Long Description:
The John Jay College Justice eReader is a product of the Transforming the Justice Core Project, made possible through generous funding from the Teagle Foundation.

An interdisciplinary working group of scholars in the humanities, criminal justice and social sciences at John Jay identified Supreme Court cases of significance to a student body interested in social justice issues and their intersection with legal and criminal justice professions. With the cases as a foundation, the working group identified readings and media that facilitate students’ interpretation and analysis of the key themes and issues at stake in each case and developed new syllabi and assignments geared toward transfer students who have completed their associate degree. This text is organized by case and contains both original legal documents and a curated selected of Open Educational Resources that introduce perspectives and representations of the issues at stake in the cases. Instructors may also access sample syllabi, assignments, and course bibliographies to guide their own practice.

The eReader purposefully integrates humanities, liberal arts and social science perspectives to present a critical examination of Landmark Supreme Court cases alongside the ethical, social, legal and political questions and histories that inform them. Readers whose ambition is to serve their communities through public service, legal, law enforcement or other professions will develop their ability to reckon with the complex ethical and moral situation of the contemporary American justice system as a result of interaction with the Justice eReader.

Word Count: 53900

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Long Description:
A core introductory sociology textbook that solves the three most common obstacles that both students and instructors struggle with: Students Do Not Read the Book: In an entertaining contrast to a typical “boring” textbook, this text is written in a storytelling style of narrative prose that injects irony and humor to engage students that they enjoy: “I really loved reading the chapter. I am not a reader, but I did continue reading the whole thing.” “It felt like a friend talking to me. I love how the book is being narrated.” “This did not seem like I am reading a book, it was like someone is telling me a story about what sociology is.” “And most of the sentences were friendly talking to me, not letting me read the whole chapter alone.”

By increasing the readability of the text, students come to class more prepared, and instructors can spend more time exploring the content with students rather than explaining the content. Students Do Not Understand the Book: The book is intentionally crafted around universal design principles. Universal design benefits everyone as it removes the need for accommodation and, thus, additional time from instructors. The textbook is globally accessible to allstudents regardless of their cultural background or diversity of ability. This non-Eurocentric core textbook dramatically reduces the confusion and burdens on students and instructors compared to a country or culturally-specific book. This is done by removing the barrier of “Cultural Overtime.” It refers to the additional work international students must perform to acquire the same cultural background information that domestic students already have the privilege of being socialized in. Lastly, because of its simplified writing style using everyday terminology, it communicates sociological jargon so that it can be absorbed without students resorting to dictionaries, internet help, tutors, or instructors to grasp its meaning.

Students Do Not “Get” Sociology: The textbook (The Human-Shaped Structure: An Introduction to Sociology) brands the study of the discipline within the broader social sciences (that study, the larger human-shaped world) and seamlessly maps onto standard curricula in introductory sociology courses (e.g., SOCI 100). Throughout the book, students learn to think sociologically and understand their role and place within the human-shaped world.

Word Count: 39581

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Do you know what your bank does with your money? What is the role of a bank in producing societal well-being?
This course looks into banks that operate differently, namely, “just banks" that use capital and finance as a tool to address social and ecological challenges.
This course is for anyone who wants to understand the unique role banks play as intermediaries in our economy and how they can leverage that position to produce positive social, environmental, and economic change.
Go to OCW’s Open Learning Library site for 11.405x: Just Money: Banking as if Society Mattered. The site is free to use, just like all OCW sites. You have the option to sign up and enroll in the course if you want to track your progress, or you can view and use all the materials without enrolling.

Do you know what your bank does with your money? What is the role of a bank in producing societal well-being?

This course looks into banks that operate differently, namely, “just banks" that use capital and finance as a tool to address social and ecological challenges.

This course is for anyone who wants to understand the unique role banks play as intermediaries in our economy and how they can leverage that position to produce positive social, environmental, and economic change.

This course explores the ideal of social justice. What makes a society just? We will approach this question by studying three opposing theories of justice—utilitarianism, libertarianism, and egalitarian liberalism—each foundational to contemporary political thought and discourse.

In the wake of Katrina the entire gulf coast is embroiled in a struggle over what constitutes “appropriate” rebuilding and redevelopment efforts. This practicum will engage students in a set of work groups designed to assist local community based institutions and people in shaping the policy and practices that will guide the redevelopment and rebuilding efforts in the city of New Orleans.

183FAM256 Keeping Up with New Mandates Course Materials
Summary: This site contains the materials for the Keeping Up with New Mandates course. There are materials that we are asking the participants to copy and bring with them to the class. There are materials that the Resource Center will provide for participants and there are materials that we are providing to participants that we ask for them to review prior to the class that do not need to be printed.

Short Description:
Every couple of years, an inspired group of people, led by the editors of AwaaZ Magazine (www.awazmagazine.com), organise a festival in Nairobi, Kenya, that goes by the name ‘SAMOSA’—South Asian Mosaic of Society and the Arts— bringing together different communities through art, music, dance, film and discussions. In 2016, during the 7th biennial event, included was a colloquium organised in collaboration with the Department of Literature of the University of Nairobi. This unique collection of essays considers the issues of citizenship, identity and belonging in Kenya through an examination of literature, film, music, and theatre, providing reflections on women, statelessness and refugees.

Long Description:
Every couple of years, an inspired group of people, led by the editors of AwaaZ Magazine (www.awazmagazine.com), organise a festival in Nairobi, Kenya, that goes by the name ‘SAMOSA’—South Asian Mosaic of Society and the Arts— bringing together different communities through art, music, dance, film and discussions. In 2016, during the 7th biennial event, included was a colloquium organised in collaboration with the Department of Literature of the University of Nairobi. This unique collection of essays considers the issues of citizenship, identity and belonging in Kenya through an examination of literature, film, music, and theatre, providing reflections on women, statelessness and refugees.

A pleasant quick read on a complex subject of citizenship, identity and belonging. Ignites an interest in these issues as expounded in the arts and film. —Dr George Gona, Senior Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, University of Nairobi.

This excellent compilation of papers by leading Kenyan academics, writers, public intellectuals and practitioners of various forms of art focuses on issues of citizenship, identity and belonging in literature, film, music and theatre. They cover a vast range of subjects that tell the story of Kenya’s past and present.

Ramnik Shah- ex-Kenyan lawyer who writes on migration and diaspora related subjects.

Word Count: 20200

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Diverse Perspectives

Short Description:
This book is intended for readers who have never studied the Middle East, or experts who may wish to fill gaps in their knowledge of the region from other disciplines. Whether for establishing or deepening one’s knowledge of the region, these fundamentals are important to know. The languages, cultural, religious and sectarian communities of the region, and selected turning points and influential people in history are starting points for gaining an understanding of the diverse contexts of the region.

Long Description:
This book is intended for readers who have never studied the Middle East, or experts who may wish to fill gaps in their knowledge of the region from other disciplines. Whether for establishing or deepening one’s knowledge of the region, these fundamentals are important to know. The languages, cultural, religious and sectarian communities of the region, and selected turning points and influential people in history are starting points for gaining an understanding of the diverse contexts of the region. It is based on introductory and graduate courses on the contemporary Middle East, which the Center’s director, Dr. Alam Payind, has been teaching for the past 30 years. The book’s co-author, Melinda McClimans, has taught these and other courses with him, as well as her own, for the past 15 years. The material is intended engage with diverse – even conflicting – cultural and historical perspectives, and ways of perceiving both Middle Eastern and world history from perspectives within the region. It is not intended to reinforce a monolithic or matter-of-fact perception of the region. For this and many other reasons, images are an important aspect of the knowledge presented. Each chapter starts with links to its image galleries, along with other visual aids and key elements.

Word Count: 28082

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A national leader in civic education, Kids Voting USA?? (KVUSA) gets students involved and ready to be educated, engaged citizens. Students learn about democracy through a combination of classroom activities, an authentic voting experience and family dialogue.