Examines cultural developments within European literature from different societies at different time-periods throughout the Middle Ages (500-1500). Considers--from a variety of political, historical, and anthropological perspectives--the growth of institutions (civic, religious, educational, and economic) which shaped the personal experiences of individuals in ways that remain quite distinct from those of modern Western societies. Texts mostly taught in translation. Topics vary and include: Courtly Literature of the High and Late Middle Ages, Medieval Women Writers, Chaucer and the 14th Century, and the Crusades.

This course surveys the history of the Middle East, from the end of the 19th century to the present. It examines major political, social, intellectual and cultural issues and practices. It also focuses on important events, movements, and ideas that prevailed during the last century and affect its current realities.

This site offers suggestions for projects that use the Archives' photographs, letters, drawings, and it highlights economic, social, and political factors that prompted thousands to migrate to Alaska.

Selective survey of Latin American history from the wars of independence at the start of the nineteenth century to the present. Issues studied include: independence and its aftermath, slavery and its abolition, Latin America in the global economy, relations between Latin America and the US, dictatorships and democracies in the twentieth century, and revolution in Mexico, Cuba, and Central America.

With the Constitution, the Founding generation created the greatest charter of freedom in the history of the world. However, the Founding generation did not believe that it had a monopoly on constitutional wisdom. Therefore, the founders set out a formal amendment process that allowed later generations to revise our nation’s charter and “form a more perfect Union.” They wrote this process into Article V of the Constitution. Over time, the American people have used this amendment process to transform the Constitution by adding a Bill of Rights, abolishing slavery, promising freedom and equality, and extending the right to vote to women and African Americans. All told, we have ratified 27 constitutional amendments across American history.

This course is an exposition of the philosophy, principles, and materials of music from the Baroque Period to contemporary period with illustrative examples from the Baroque Period, Classical Period, Romantic Period, Contemporary Classical Music and Popular Music. The course is designed to give the student an appreciation of music by exposing them to many musical styles, composers, historical trends, as well as increasing their aural, verbal and writing skills in describing music.

Throughout this unit on Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, students practice the same six skills with greater scaffolding and modeling at the beginning, and more independence toward the middle and end. The tasks include: 1. writing to an essential question to access background knowledge; 2. using context clues and root words to determine word meaning; 3. close reading with the aid of a glossary; 4. taking notes one of two graphic organizers (sequence of events and/or empathy map); 5. re-reading to answer text dependent questions; and 6. summarizing the chapter.

Teachinghistory.org (National History Education Clearinghouse) offers resources to teachers in multiple ways.  Three sections outline teaching materials, history content, and best practices in teaching history.  There are links for elementary, middle, and high school teachers, with everything from complete lesson plans to general outlines of historical events and skills.  You can also access research on the state of history education in the country, as well as a blog and the teachinghistory.org community.  

Overview / Description: This unit will examine the experience of Native Americans during the Great Depression in the United States. It will integrate comparisons with the experiences of other minority groups as well as exposing students to primary source documents related to the government policies which were adopted toward Native Americans during the time. Guiding Questions: What were the US government’s policies toward Native Americans leading up to the Great Depression? Were they fair? What was FDR’s response to the struggles of Native Americans during the Great Depression? What was the Native American experience like during the Great Depression and how did it compare to other minority groups? Learning goals/objectives:    Analyze primary and secondary sources related to the experience of Native Americans during the Great Depression. Summarize the experiences of Native Americans during the Great Depression. 

Uses sources from the time and historians' interpretations to analyze National Socialism in Germany. Topics include: the history of racist thought and policy in Germany before Nazism; the Nazi movement during the Weimar Republic; the structure of the Nazi state; Nazi policy against Jews and other groups between 1933 and 1939; Nazi economic policy; mobilization for war and the war experience in central Europe; the Holocaust; and the political roles of Nazism and the Holocaust in post-Nazi Germany.

This lesson gives background to the rise of the National-Socialist German Workers' Party Party (Nazi Party) and in particular to their annexation of Austria through a powerpoint.  It then asks students to analyze three primary source documents to act as evidence in answering an historical question: How did the Nazi party convince 99% of Germans to vote in favor of the annexation of Austria?  Student then write a short argument based on their understanding of the texts and visuals.

The book collects together and republishes a set of essays by Frank G. Speck that were originally issued as separate articles in The Southern Workman. The papers, which were written early in Speck's career, during the period 1907-1911, draw upon his first-hand observations in the Indian and Oklahoma Territories on the eve of Oklahoma statehood. In contrast to his more dispassionate ethnographic writings, which were published in venues read primarily by professional anthropologists and folklorists, these essays were published for a popular audience in the journal of the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute, an important college serving African American and Native American students. Reflecting the sensibilities of Speck and his anthropological circle at the time, these brief essays are accessible, provocative and sometimes biting in tone and represent the work of a young scholar seeking to develop a public, progressive, critical and engaged stance relative to the social problems faced by the peoples--particularly Native American and African American peoples--of Oklahoma and of the United States more broadly. For modern readers, the essays are little utilized sources for the study of Oklahoma, Freedmen, and Muscogee (Creek) Indian cultural history. They also deepen historical understandings of Speck and his work and enrich scholarly knowledge of early efforts at developing anthropology as a means of cultural critique. Under U.S. copyright law, these essays are now in the public domain and is being republished on this basis.

Students study how artists of the Neoclassical period were influenced by major historical events during the Enlightenment. They will identify and analyze the Neoclassical style.

In this class we will come to understand the vast changes in Spanish life that have taken place since Franco's death in 1975. We will focus on the new freedom from censorship, the re-emergence of movements for regional autonomy, the new cinema, reforms in education and changes in daily life: Sex roles, work, and family that have occurred in the last decade. In so doing, we will examine myths that are often considered commonplaces when describing Spain and its people.

The "Observe, Think, Wonder" sheet was written (along with other resources) from a grant from the Library of Congress. It is based off their 6-12 analysis of primary sources documents. This is geared more towards elementary primary source analysis.

A K-5 student can analyze appropriate primary sources such as photographs and maps. Using the "Observe, Think, Wonder", students can walk through age-appropriate analysis by taking some time to look closely at the source (observe) and write down what they see; then dig a little deeper into what they think is happening in the photo or reading (think) before finally writing down any questions they might have about the source (wonder). This is great practice for further analysis and evaluation as they get older.

What is a city? What shapes it? How does its history influence future development? How do physical form and institutions vary from city to city and how are these differences significant? How are cities changing and what is their future? This course will explore these and other questions, with emphasis upon twentieth-century American cities. A major focus will be on the physical form of cities—from downtown and inner-city to suburb and edge city—and the processes that shape them.

These questions and more are explored through lectures, readings, workshops, field trips, and analysis of particular places, with the city itself as a primary text. In light of the 2016 centennial of MIT’s move from Boston to Cambridge, the 2015 iteration of the course focused on MIT’s original campus in Boston’s Back Bay, and the university’s current neighborhood in Cambridge. Short field assignments, culminating in a final project, will provide students opportunities to use, develop, and refine new skills in “reading” the city.

This class provides a historical survey of the ways that people have interacted with their closest animal relatives, for example: hunting, domestication of livestock, exploitation of animal labor, scientific study of animals, display of exotic and performing animals, and pet keeping. Themes include changing ideas about animal agency and intelligence, our moral obligations to animals, and the limits imposed on the use of animals.

This site features an all-black regiment that rose to fame at a time when the Army, federal workers, and other parts of society were segregated. The 369th Infantry, also known as the Harlem Hellfighters, was among the first regiments to arrive in France in 1917 after the U.S. declared war on Germany. Under the command of mostly white officers, the regiment spent 191 days in combat, longer than any other American unit, and emerged as one of the most highly decorated regiments during the Great War.

Examine a collection of primary source documents about airplanes in the United States.