Unit+Map+with+Primary+Resources

GD Europe: Unit Map

LEVEL THREE:

EXPLORING EUROPEAN NATIONALISM THROUGH THE JEWISH AND MUSLIM EXPERIENCES OF THE 20TH AND 21ST CENTURY

UNIT I: The Jewish Experience: The Holocaust

Through a multitude of resources, students will examine the plight of Jewish people in 20th Century Europe (Germany and Poland specifically). They will consider the broad concept of cultural assimilation by examining events and philosophies leading up to the Holocaust, and how a people’s identity shifts, adapts, and strengthens in the aftermath of such horrific tragedy.

Community Identity and the rise of the Modern Nation in Europe. How and why do people come together to form a community? How do communities of people develop their group identity and come to define themselves? What is a nation? A state? How do they relate to one another? How have modern nations formed in Europe?
 * ** Topics and Essential Questions: European Nationalism **


 * UNIT I ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: **

What is racism? What is tolerance? What does it mean to be a responsible citizen? What is faith? What is identity? How does an accurate knowledge of historical events help people to avoid heinous acts? // Why // do groups adopt other cultures? Should groups give up their uniqueness for social equality? What factors contribute to colonization and oppression? How did the Holocaust affect Jewish identity? How have Jewish people responded in the aftermath? Have Jewish people been able to integrate successfully to European nations? What culture clashes have resulted from the Holocaust? ||
 * ** Primary Resources: **


 * Texts to be read and analyzed by level three students: (Both texts are short and accessible, and I think that students will gain a better understanding by reading both perspectives). **

// The Boy with the Striped Pajamas //, John Boyne: Students study the Holocaust from the German perspective of the son of an SS officer in Poland.

// Night, // Elie Wiesel: Students study the horrific personal account of the Nobel Peace Prize recipient’s survival of the concentration camps.


 * Film: **

Documentary//: A Film Unfinished// directed by Yael Hersonski: Students analyze Nazi’s use of propaganda to influence and manipulate their followers. Students also contrast a fictionalized account of the Holocaust (//The Boy With the Striped Pajamas//) to actual real footage of the horrors of the Warsaw Ghetto, which is where the documentary is based

// Schindler’s List // directed by Steven Spielberg (I am still debating showing //La vita e bella (Life is Beautiful),// an Italian film.

// Triumph of the Will: // Leni Riefenstahl. Nazi propaganda film based on Nazi Party Congress in Nuremburg>> excerpts

// Night and Fog // directed by Alan Resnais: short French documentary film based>> excerpts


 * Teacher Resources: **

Elie Wiesel: First Person Singular. Teaching Guide. PBS. http://www.pbs.org/eliewiesel/teaching/activity2.html

Hill and Wang’s Teacher’s Guide for NIGHT- Downloadable at www.nightthebook.com

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR READING NIGHT (Taken from a reading group for the book at [|www.fsgbooks.com] )

Resource for teaching the mock trial: //International Criminal Court: Teaching Resources: Law Connection.// http://www.lawconnection.ca/?q=content/international-criminal-court-teaching-resources

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website []

Study guide for //A Film Unfinished// ||
 * ** Assessments: **


 * 1 Page Persuasive Essay Topics>> OPTIONS (possible topics): (Students use passages to support views) **

What does it mean to strip a person’s humanity? Was Wiesel deprived of his humanity?

“This applies to Palestinians to whose plight I am sensitive but whose methods I deplore when they lead to violence. Violence is not the answer. Terrorism is the most dangerous of answers.” Wiesel (Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech). Is violence ever justified in the face of oppression?

What advantages does Boyne gain by opting to tell the tale from the perspective of a child? Why does he use wordplay such as “Out-With” instead of “Auschwitz” to enhance his purpose?


 * Mock Trial: **

The Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre provides a comprehensive mock trial called Nuremberg: A Student Mock Trial of Julius Streicher. (We can adapt and create our own case if need be- I need to look into this further).


 * Electronic Journal for the reading of both texts: **

Here are a couple of examples for reflections:

A. “And that is why I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.” Wiesel. Students write on a time when they were forced to bear witness. Or of a time when they should have spoken out and did not.

B. Throughout the novel, Wiesel questions and at times comes close to abandoning his faith in God. What does this reveal about Wiesel? What is your relationship with ‘faith.’ Describe a time when your faith has been tried. Do you think that you could possibly have maintained faith if in Wiesel’s position?


 * Podcast>> See curriculum ** ||

GD Europe: Unit Map

UNIT II: MUSLIM ASSIMILATION IN FRANCE (WWI-Present Day) : Students examine the historical backdrop leading up to present day issues in France, such as Islamic fundamentalism and the Veil Law. Through the study of French colonization of Muslim territories (specifically Algeria), and resulting Muslim immigration into France, students reflect on significant events leading up to the conflict today.

What impels a community of people to move from their homeland? What role has immigration played in the history of Europe (or more specific)? What role has colonialism played in the History of Europe? (what motives does a country have to expand economically, territorially, culturally?) What is the relationship like between people who move into a country with those who are settled there? How does this dynamic change when the newcomer is rich/poor? The resident is rich/poor? How do the movements and interactions of different groups of people affect their individual identity? Collective identity? How do states/nations evolve as groups of people within those states interact with one another?
 * ** Topics and Essential Questions: Immigration/Colonization **


 * UNIT II ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: **

What factors determine cultural assimilation? What does it mean to adopt another culture? // Why // do groups adopt other cultures? Should groups give up their uniqueness for social equality? What factors contribute to colonization and oppression? What is the French paradox within the secularism it promotes? Does this actually support integration or separation? How did French colonization of Algeria contribute to Muslim assimilation? How did WWI contribute? What economic and social factors have led to the development of Islamic fundamentalism and incidents of extremism in France today? How did the literature and journalism from France warn of cultural warfare? What cultural clashes have developed in France? ||
 * ** Primary Resources: **


 * Texts to be read and analyzed by level three students: **

Excerpts from //Le Gone du Chaaba (Shangy-town Kid)// by Azouz Begag: Students examine how Begag’s account of growing up in the Ghetto in France during the 1960’s serves as a backdrop for the current cultural barriers Muslims are experiencing in present day France.

Excerpts from //Racism Explained to My Daughter// by Tahar Ben Jelloun: French born writer from Morroco answers his daughters on racism in response to immigration laws set forth in France.

Excerpts from //Breaking the Silence: French Women’s Voices from the Ghetto// by Fadela Amara: Students look into the role of Muslim women in France to attain a better understanding of the controversy surrounding the Veil Law


 * Articles: **

“Migration sans Assimilation: Muslim Immigration in France” by Cadet Andrea Walton

“Europe: Integrating Islam” by Toni Johnson (Council on Foreign Relations)

“France’s Shame” //The Economist// 2002

“Muslims in European cities: A case for vigilance, not despair” //The Economist// 2008 || GD Europe: Unit Map
 * ** Assessments: ** ||
 * ** Topics and Essential Questions: Discrimination/Prejudice and Conflicts between communities. ** ||
 * ** Primary Resources: ** ||
 * ** Assessments: ** ||