Celebrated photographer Wendy Ewald has spent her life teaching students in communities around the world to record their own family histories on camera. Her seminal 1985 work, Portraits and Dreams: Photographs and Stories By Children of The Appalachians, was the result of a unique creative collaboration between Ewald and the students she taught at three elementary schools in Letcher County, Kentucky, in the 1970s. Tasked with finding authentic ways of representing the lives of these children, she gave each of them a camera and interviewed them about their childhood in the mountains. The photographs represented a rare opportunity for children living in rural Appalachia to reflect on their families, dreams, fears and release their vibrant imaginations. In the documentary Portraits and Dreams, co-directed by Ewald and Elizabeth Barret, the photographer returns to Kentucky and visits with students she taught in Appalachia whose work formed the book, who are now adults with families of their own.

This lesson acknowledges that students have insight into themselves and their communities and that such insight is worthy of deliberate self-expression. Throughout the lesson, students will learn about a rural Appalachian community, and a group of middle school students who engaged in a long term photographic project with Wendy Ewald. Clips of the young photographers discussing their work--and their lives since then-- will help students explore and discuss tensions between insider and outsider perspectives of community, with a particular focus on depictions and experiences of poverty. Students will have the opportunity to learn about photographic elements and then apply these elements in their own portraits. The selected clips, and related assignments, are designed to help students slow down and interpret and make meaningful artistic decisions and to pay attention to how communities are framed in the media.

Teaching Philosophies

Wendy Ewald
As an artist, when I first began to teach, I used my intuitive teaching skills to help my students create the photographs I sensed they were capable of making. I felt my job was to recognize the uniqueness of each child’s vision and nurture it. I could see the students gaining self-confidence as they became fluent in this new medium. They often made discoveries about themselves while examining their surroundings. And at times the students’ photographs helped their teachers understand how they saw their communities and home lives.

Sarah Bausell
As a former high school English teacher and current teacher educator, my approach to teaching emerges from a strong belief in the power of storytelling and, relatedly, a commitment to pedagogies that honor student rights to self-expression. For educators, this film serves as a dual reminder: students are uniquely suited to describe their lives and we must reimagine our work as teachers to make such deliberate self-expression central to our curriculum. This lesson is designed to guide students through self-expression and also deepen their awareness of and push-back on dominant and oftentimes misanthropic portrayals of communities.

A Note to Teachers
The photographers featured in this film share significant socio-cultural and economic insight into their Appalachian communities. For many students and teachers alike, the intimate portrayals of generational poverty and some of the personal revelations about childhood physical abuse and hunger illuminated in this documentary may be triggering. Pay close attention to the learners in your care, and in particular pay attention to the ways that they interact with one another, their photographs, and the stories shared through this film.

Subject Areas:

• English Language Arts
• Art (Photography, Film Studies)
• Social Studies
• Social Emotional Learning

Grade Levels: 7-12

Objectives:

In this lesson, students will:

• English Language Arts (ELA): Assess and write about how point of view, framing, and symbol shapes the content and style of a photograph;
• Social Studies: Describe the connections between the physical environment of a place and the economic activities found there; examine structural factors of poverty and conflicts between representations of community and community members’ various experiences;
• Art: Understand and analyze key photographic concepts, such as point of view, framing, and symbol; make photographs and explain aesthetic choices using written text;
• Social Emotional Learning: engage diverse perspectives and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds and cultures.

Materials:

• Student journals or writing materials
• Cameras-Many students have access to cell phones with cameras. Something to keep in mind are that these cameras vary in quality and, oftentimes, have a host of lenses/add ons. If students are asked to use their own phone as a camera, then teachers should ask students to think about the various affordances and limitations of that particular tool as they plan for and take their own portrait.
• “The War on Poverty” Life Magazine, 1964
• Reading Photographs Handout

Time Needed:

Four 45 minute class periods, with optional homework in between

Portraits and Dreams revisits photographs created by Kentucky schoolchildren in the 1970s and the place where their photos were made. Photographer and artist Wendy Ewald, who guided the students in making their visionary photographs, returns to Kentucky and learns how the lives and visions of her former students have changed. The film combines the new narratives and insights of the now adult students.

Film maker, Wendy Ewald, has published extensively on topics illuminated in Portraits and Dreams You can explore her full bibliography on her website: www.wendyewald.com/books. Select titles are highlighted below:

Ewald, Wendy and Alexandra Lightfoot. I Wanna Take Me a Picture: Teaching Photography and Writing to Children. New York, New York: Beacon Press, 2002
Written for parents and teachers, I Wanna Take Me a Picture is an accessible and practical guide to getting children involved in photography. Through a series of lessons from self-portraiture to representing their dreams- it teaches everything a beginner needs to know: how to compose a picture, set up a darkroom and develop film.

Ewald, Wendy. Portraits and Dreams. MACK
This collection of photographs and essays was born out of Wendy Ewald's experiences teaching young children in Eastern Kentucky. The photographs included reflect the work of these young children and include self-portraits, family portraits, and photographs meant to capture the childrens' dreams.

Ewald, Wendy and Katherine Hyde, et al.. Literacy and Justice Through Photography: A Classroom Guide. New York, New York: Teachers College Press, 2011.
This practical guide will help teachers to use the acclaimed “Literacy Through Photography” method developed by Wendy Ewald to promote critical thinking, self-expression, and respect in the classroom.

Three generations of the Phadke family live together in their home in Mumbai. When the youngest daughter turns the camera toward her family, the personal becomes political as power structures within the family become visible—and eventually unravel. Cruel and comic in equal measure, the film examines the vagaries of affection across generations, tied together by something stranger than love.

Gidia, Sujatha. Ants Among Elephants: An Untouchable Family and the Making of Modern India. New York, New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2018.
Like one in six people in India, Sujatha Gidia was born an untouchable. In this biography, Gidia explores how her family history was at once extraordinary and typical. A moving portrait of love, hardship, and struggle, Ants Among Elephants is a personal history of modern India told from the bottom up.

Mehta, Suketu. Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found. New York, New York: Penguin Books, 2004.
Suketu Mehta gives an insider’s view of Mumbai approaching the city from unexpected angles, and different points of view. As each individual story unfolds, Mehta also recounts his own efforts to make a home in Mumbai, after more than 20 years abroad, Candid, impassioned, funny, and heartrending, Maximum City is a revelation of an ancient and ever-changing world.

Patel, Sujata. Bombay and Mumbai: The City in Transition. Uttar Pradesh, India: Oxford India Paperbacks, 2005.
This volume looks at contemporary Mumbai. The papers in this volume explore and explain what Bombay has become in its shape and patterns of living at the beginning of the 21st century. It looks at the implications of change in Mumbai and the ways in which it has affected its people.

Phadke, Shilpa and Sameera Khan Why Loiter?: Women and Risk on Mumbai Streets. New York, New York: Penguin Books, 2011.
Why Loiter? maps the exclusions and negotiations that women from different classes and communities encounter in the nation’s urban public spaces. Based on more than three years of research, Phadke, Khan, and Ranade argue that through women’s access to urban spaces has increased they still do not have equal claim to public space in the city. Drawing on feminist theory, they argue that only by celebrating loitering as an radical act for most Indian women can a truly equal global city be created.

Rohatgi, Pauline Pheroza Gorrej, and Rahul Mehrotra. Bombay to Mumbai: Changing Perspectives. Mumbai, India. The Marg Foundation, 2008.
The history is told here of how, within three centuries, seven west-coast islands evolved into the Bombay peninsula, then into a flourishing center for trade. It ultimately became the cosmopolitan, high rise metropolis of Mumbai.

In About Love, filmmaker Archana Phadke offers a revealing portrait of her own family. Three generations of Phadkes live together in Mumbai, India’s financial center. A reasonably well-resourced family, they nevertheless are challenged by the contradictions of making a modern life within India’s Hindu and post-colonial nationalist structures that empower men while marginalizing women.

As Archana interviews her mother she is surprised to learn that the woman who raised her treasures time to be alone so that she can gather her thoughts and write. The writing gives her voice in a situation where she feels like no one listens to her.

This lesson offers students a chance to link and contrast Maneesha Phadke’s need to write with literary giant Virginia Woolf’s famous claim that in order to write, women need money and a room of one’s own (both of which have typically been denied by sexist cultures, laws, and customs). Teacher’s can guide students to explore as much or as little of the specific historical context for Woolf’s writing as suits curriculum needs. It will also be easy to add or skip research skills by assigning students to find information on Woolf or simply supplying the relevant background.

The point of introducing students to Woolf and Maneesha Phadke is to prime them for a metacognitive exercise in which they think about (and write about) their own writing. How do they carve out space and time to ponder their own thoughts, find their own voice, and express themselves? What can they learn from those who have gone before about the challenges, strategies, and rewards of finding ways to share their own voice?

A Note from Curriculum Creator, Dr. Faith Rogow

As educators, we often talk about the importance of students having voice—a chance to discover who they are and express themselves. But we rarely take time to guide them in practices that might help them do just that. Using the filmmaker’s mother, Maneesha, as both example and inspiration, this lesson gives students an opportunity to make an intentional plan that provides them time for reflection and creativity.

Subject Areas:

• English/Language Arts
• Modern Literature
• Women’s/Gender Studies
• Creative Writing

Grade Levels: 10-12

Objectives:

In this lesson, students will:

• Be introduced to the work of writer Virginia Woolf
• Understand Woolf’s comment that for women to write they need “money and a room of one’s own,” including how the comment applies to modern women
• Understand how carving out time to reflect is essential to having a public voice
• Make a plan for creating their own space to reflect and write

Materials

• Excerpt from Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own
• Film Clips from About Love and a way to screen them

Time Needed:

One 60-minute class period with homework and an option for students to share their writing.

In About Love, filmmaker Archana Phadke offers a revealing portrait of the banal, sometimes disturbing, ever enduring bonds of family. Three generations of the Phadke family live together in downtown Mumbai. Their lives, recorded over the span of three years (2015-2017), reveal the contradictions of a modern, well-educated family making a life within India’s traditional Hindu and post-colonial nationalist structures that empower men while marginalizing women.

As the family copes with caring for ailing elders and preparing for a son’s wedding, viewers are invited to think about the purposes of marriage, the impact of losing independence (either through marriage or infirmity), and what it means to be heard.

In this captivating documentary filmed in a single tiny room, viewers step inside an underground hair salon with its charismatic proprietor, a Cameroonian immigrant named Sabine. Here, she and her employees style extensions and glue on lashes while watching soaps, dishing romantic advice, sharing rumors about government programs to legalize migrants, and talking about life back home in Cameroon.

Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. Americanah. Anchor, 2013.
Ifemelu and Obinze are young and in love when they depart military-ruled Nigeria for the West. Beautiful, self-assured Ifemelu heads for America, where despite her academic success, she is forced to grapple with what it means to be black for the first time. Quiet, thoughtful Obinze had hoped to join her, but with post-9/11 America closed to him, he instead plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London. Fifteen years later, they reunite in a newly democratic Nigeria, and reignite their passion—for each other and for their homeland. The novel begins in a flashback when Ifemelu is having her hair braided—the imbued symbolism of hair is a key element in the book. And as a personal expression of identity it’s something every reader, and certainly every woman, can relate to personally.

Bulawayo, NoViolet. We Need New Names. Back Bay Books, 2014.
Darling is only ten years old, and yet she must navigate a fragile and violent world. In Zimbabwe, Darling and her friends steal guavas, try to get the baby out of young Chipo’s belly, and grasp at memories of Before. Before their homes were destroyed by paramilitary policemen, before the school closed, before the fathers left for dangerous jobs abroad. But Darling has a chance to escape: she has an aunt in America. She travels to this new land in search of America’s famous abundance only to find that her options as an immigrant are perilously few.

Busby, Margaret (Editor). New Daughters of Africa: An international anthology of writing by women of African descent.Amistad Press, 2019.
This follow-up to the original landmark anthology brings together fresh and vibrant voices that have emerged from across the globe in the past two decades, from Antigua to Zimbabwe and Angola to the United States. Key figures, including Margo Jefferson, Nawal El Saadawi, Edwidge Danticat, and Zadie Smith, join popular contemporaries such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Imbolo Mbue, Yrsa Daley-Ward, Taiye Selasi, and Chinelo Okparanta in celebrating the heritage that unites them. Each of the pieces in this remarkable collection demonstrates an uplifting sense of sisterhood, honors the strong links that endure from generation to generation, and addresses the common obstacles female writers of color face as they negotiate issues of race, gender, and class and address vital matters of independence, freedom, and oppression.

Gyasi, Yaa. Homegoing. Vintage, 2017.
Ghana, eighteenth century: two half-sisters are born into different villages, each unaware of the other. One will marry an Englishman and lead a life of comfort in the palatial rooms of the Cape Coast Castle. The other will be captured in a raid on her village, imprisoned in the very same castle, and sold into slavery. Homegoing follows the parallel paths of these sisters and their descendants through eight generations: from the Gold Coast to the plantations of Mississippi, from the American Civil War to Jazz Age Harlem. The novel casts light upon slavery’s troubled legacy both for those who were taken and those who stayed—and shows how the memory of captivity has been inscribed on the soul of our nation.Ghana, eighteenth century: two half sisters are born into different villages, each unaware of the other. One will marry an Englishman and lead a life of comfort in the palatial rooms of the Cape Coast Castle. The other will be captured in a raid on her village, imprisoned in the very same castle, and sold into slavery.

Selasi,Taiye. Ghana Must Go by.Penguin, 2014.
This novel takes readers from Accra to Lagos to London to New York, it is at once a portrait of a modern family and an exploration of the importance of where we come from to who we are.
A renowned surgeon and failed husband, Kweku Sai dies suddenly at dawn outside his home in suburban Accra. The news of his death sends a ripple around the world, bringing together the family he abandoned years before. Moving with great elegance through time and place, Ghana Must Go charts their circuitous journey to one another and, along the way, teaches us that the truths we speak can heal the wounds we hide.

Smith, Zadie. Swing Time: A NovelPenguin Books, 2017.
An ambitious, exuberant new novel moving from North West London to West Africa.
Two brown girls dream of being dancers—but only one, Tracey, has talent. The other has ideas: about rhythm and time, about black bodies and black music, what constitutes a tribe, or makes a person truly free. It’s a close but complicated childhood friendship that ends abruptly in their early twenties, never to be revisited, but never quite forgotten, either. The story moves from London to West Africa, where diaspora tourists travel back in time to find their roots, young men risk their lives to escape into a different future, the women dance just like Tracey—the same twists, the same shakes—and the origins of a profound inequality are not a matter of distant history, but a present dance to the music of time.

"She walked on roads, fields, deserts…”
Understanding the Push and Pull of International Migration

Overview

At Jolie Coiffure salon, the charismatic owner Sabine offers much more than the intricate hairstyles advertised in her window displays. Her small shop serves as a community hub where local West African immigrants like herself talk about their experiences, dish romantic advice, reminisce about home, and swap critical information on government policies and actions that impact their precarious lives as immigrants.

Years ago, Sabine left her home in Cameroon when recruited by a Lebanese maid service. As soon as she arrived in Lebanon, her passport was taken and she was trapped in domestic servitude with no rights or freedoms. After two years of abuse, Sabine escaped, travelling mostly on foot through Greece and Syria before seeking asylum in Belgium. She settled in Matonge, the city’s African quarter, where she manages her beauty salon Jolie Coiffure and waits to hear if she will finally be granted asylum or abruptly arrested and deported back to Cameroon.

Filmed entirely inside the tiny salon by director, Rosine Mbakam, Chez Jolie Coiffure captures an intimate look at a year in the lives of Sabine and her community as they navigate legal obstacles and confront personal traumas on their quest for a safe and lasting home in their new country.

In this lesson, students will share and examine their perceptions of and experience with immigration and sometimes vague language of international human migration. Through Sabine’s story and collaborative activities, students will identify “push/pull” factors that that lead individuals and families to leave their countries despite the complex hurdles and personal risks they face. They will then connect the factors that motivated each stage of Sabine’s journey to fundamental human rights as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The lesson will culminate with students identifying current media stories of international migration and collaborate in small groups to develop multimedia presentations integrating their understanding of Push/Pull Factors, international human rights, and evaluating if/how these rights are applicable under U.S. policies.

A Note from Curriculum Creator, Allison Milewski

I have a confession to make: my love of teaching is deeply rooted in my own joy for learning. For the past 20 years, I’ve been incredibly privileged to work and live in both New York City and Southeast Asia where every day has presented an opportunity to learn about my students, my craft, our societies, and my own privileges and blind-spots. I have collaborated with diverse and inspiring communities of educators and students and taught across cultures, institutions, and age groups (from six to 60 -- sometimes in the same classroom!) Although every community, every classroom, and every student I’ve encountered is unique, the common thread that connects me to every person I’ve encountered, is the ability to learn from each other and the desire to expand our knowledge and experience by sharing our stories.

Director Rosine Mbakam’s documentary, Chez Jolie Coiffure, beautifully illustrates the revelatory power of storytelling - and the importance of considering who is telling the story about whom. Through the daily life and intimate stories of Cameroonian stylist, Sabine, Mbakam deftly brings into focus complex issues of mass migration, the global refugee crisis, worker exploitation, gender-based violence, and universal human rights as well as the ability of stories to build community and bear witness.

As an educator, I was especially drawn to the opportunity to introduce students to Sabine, an engaging, moving, and charismatic woman whose experiences demonstrate the human impact of academic concepts such as Push/Pull actors and the language of migration. Even as the lesson shifts to broader discussions of universal human rights and social responsibility, students’ activities and discussions can remain firmly grounded in Sabine’s personal story as a migrant, refugee, asylum seeker, and survivor.

A Note to Teachers

This lesson, and the accompanying film, address a range of challenging issues that may be sensitive for some students. I encourage teachers and facilitators to screen the film clips and review all of the related materials in advance of the lesson. Some (or many) of your students may have personal experience with issues such as immigration law, asylum seekers, migrant and refugee rights, labor exploitation, racism, xenophobia, and gender-based violence. Their perspectives and sensitivities should inform how the lesson is presented. It might also be helpful to connect with a school social worker for resources specific to your school’s guidelines and your students’ needs.

Before the lesson, remind the class that this is a supportive environment and make time to review your classroom’s tools for creating a safe-space, including class agreements. These might include guidelines like “no interrupting,” “listen without judgment,” “use respectful language,” “share to your level of comfort,” “you have the right to pass,” etc. And remind students that when they talk about groups of people, they should be careful to use the word “some,” not “all.”

Visit Teaching Tolerance for excellent resources and strategies for tackling challenging topics in the classroom:

• Teaching Tolerance: Let's Talk! Discussing Race, Racism and Other Difficult Topics with Students:
  https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/publications/lets-talk
• Social Justice Standards | The Teaching Tolerance Anti-bias Framework:
  https://www.tolerance.org/professional-development/social-justice-standards-the-teaching-tolerance-antibias-framework
• Teaching at the Intersections: Honor and teach about your students’ multiple identities:
  https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/summer-2016/teaching-at-the-intersections

Subject Areas:

• Social Studies
• Political Science
• International Relations
• Global History/Global Studies
• Current Events
• Media Studies
• English Language Arts

Grade Levels: [9-12]

Objectives:

Students will

• Examine their perceptions of immigration and immigrants and interrogate implicit biases they may have
• Compare/contrast the different forms of international human migration and define key terms
• Identify “push/pull” factors that lead individuals like Sabine in Chez Jolie Coiffure to migrate to a new country
• Relate the factors that drive international migration to the protections in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Create a multimedia presentation on a current immigration story that illustrates an understanding of migration push/pull factors and Universal Human Rights and assesses if/how the subjects of the story are protected under U.S. immigration, refugee and/or asylum policies

Materials:

• Chez Jolie Coiffure film clips and equipment on which to show them
• Student Handouts
  • Student Handout A: The Push and Pull of Migration
  • Student Handout B: Push/Pull Factors in Chez Jolie
  • Student Handout C: Understanding Sabine’s Story
  • Student Handout D: Migration and Universal Human Rights
• Teacher Handouts
  • Teacher Handout A: Film Summary
  • Teacher Handout B: Key Terms Cut-Outs
  • Teacher Handout C: What are Universal Human Rights?
• White board/markers
• Large chart paper (2 sheets for each group of four students)
• Pens and writing paper
• Tape

Time Needed:

Two 50-minute class periods with homework

View the trailer hereand sign up to receive updates here.

In this captivating documentary filmed in a single tiny room, viewers step inside an underground hair salon with its charismatic proprietor, a Cameroonian immigrant named Sabine. She and her employees style extensions and glue on lashes while watching soaps, dishing romantic advice, sharing rumors about government programs to legalize migrants and talking about life back home in Cameroon.

A political firebrand in her home country, Israeli defense attorney Lea Tsemel is known by her opponents as "the devil's advocate," for her decades-long defense of Palestinians who have been accused of resisting the occupation.

Allen, Lori. The Rise and Fall of Human Rights: Cynicism and Politics in Occuplied Palestine. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2013.
The Rise and Fall of Human Rights provides a groundbreaking ethnographic investigation of the Palestinian human rights world—its NGOs, activists, and "victims," as well as their politics, training, and discourse—since 1979. Though human rights activity began as a means of struggle against the Israeli occupation, in failing to end the Israeli occupation, protect basic human rights, or establish an accountable Palestinian government, the human rights industry has become the object of cynicism for many Palestinians. But far from indicating apathy, such cynicism generates a productive critique of domestic politics and Western interventionism. This book illuminates the successes and failures of Palestinians' varied engagements with human rights in their quest for independence.

Chomsky, Noam, and Ilan Pappé, edited by Frank Barat.On Palestine.Chicago: Haymarket, 2015.
Operation Protective Edge, Israel's most recent assault on Gaza, left thousands of Palestinians dead and cleared the way for another Israeli land grab. The need to stand in solidarity with Palestinians has never been greater. Ilan Pappé and Noam Chomsky, two leading voices in the struggle to liberate Palestine, discuss the road ahead for Palestinians and how the international community can pressure Israel to end its human rights abuses against the people of Palestine. On Palestine is the sequel to their acclaimed book Gaza in Crisis.

Erakat, Noura. Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine. Stanford, CA: Standford University Press, 2020.
Justice for Some offers a new approach to understanding the Palestinian struggle for freedom, told through the power and control of international law. Focusing on key junctures―from the Balfour Declaration in 1917 to present-day wars in Gaza―Noura Erakat shows how the strategic deployment of law has shaped current conditions. Over the past century, the law has done more to advance Israel's interests than the Palestinians'. But, Erakat argues, this outcome was never inevitable. Law is politics, and its meaning and application depend on the political intervention of states and people alike. Within the law, change is possible. International law can serve the cause of freedom when it is mobilized in support of a political movement. Presenting the promise and risk of international law, Justice for Some calls for renewed action and attention to the Question of Palestine.

Hannum, Hurst. Rescuing Human Rights: A Radically Moderate Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019.
This is a multi-disciplinary book with a primary focus on international law and human rights. It analyzes human rights successes and failures, and argues that the role of human rights in foreign affairs continues to be crucial in the twenty-first century.

Khalidi, Rashid.The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood.Boston: Beacon, 2006.
At a time when a lasting peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis seems virtually unattainable, understanding the roots of their conflict is an essential step in restoring hope to the region. In The Iron Cage, Rashid Khalidi, one of the most respected historians and political observers of the Middle East, homes in on Palestinian politics and history. By drawing on a wealth of experience and scholarship, Khalidi provides a lucid context for the realities on the ground today, a context that has been, until now, notably lacking in our discourse.

Pappé, Ilan.The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine.Oxford: OneWorld, 2006.
Renowned Israeli historian, Ilan Pappé's groundbreaking book revisits the formation of the State of Israel. Between 1947 and 1949, over 400 Palestinian villages were deliberately destroyed, civilians were massacred and around a million men, women, and children were expelled from their homes at gunpoint. Denied for almost six decades, had it happened today it could only have been called "ethnic cleansing". Decisively debunking the myth that the Palestinian population left of their own accord in the course of this war, Ilan Pappé offers impressive archival evidence to demonstrate that, from its very inception, a central plank in Israel's founding ideology was the forcible removal of the indigenous population. Indispensable for anyone interested in the current crisis in the Middle East.

Said, Edward.The Question of Palestine.New York: Vintage, 1979.
This original and deeply provocative book was the first to make Palestine the subject of a serious debate–one that remains as critical as ever. With the rigorous scholarship he brought to his influential Orientalism and an exile’s passion (he is Palestinian by birth), Edward W. Said traces the fatal collision between two peoples in the Middle East and its repercussions in the lives of both the occupier and the occupied–as well as in the conscience of the West. He has updated this landmark work to portray the changed status of Palestine and its people in light of such developments as the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the intifada, the Gulf War, and the ongoing MIddle East peace initiative. For anyone interested in this region and its future, The Question of Palestine remains the most useful and authoritative account available.

Sfard, Mikharel. The Wall and the Gate: Israel, Palestine and the Legal Battle for Human Rights. New York: Metropolitan Books, 2017.
In The Wall and the Gate, Michael Sfard chronicles this struggle - a story that has never before been fully told - and in the process engages the core principles of human rights legal ethics. Sfard recounts the unfolding of key cases and issues, ranging from confiscation of land, deportations, the creation of settlements, punitive home demolitions, torture, and targeted killings - all actions considered violations of international law. In the process, he lays bare the reality of the occupation and the lives of the people who must contend with that reality.

Against the backdrop of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, directors Rachel Leah Jones and Philippe Bellaiche document the work of Lea Tsemel, a Jewish-Israeli human rights lawyer who has dedicated her life to representing Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli courts. Her defense of Palestinians who resist the occupation — through both violent and non-violent means — has earned her a reputation as “the devil’s advocate” from her opponents, but she believes in the potential of law as a tool to bring about justice. Of the work she says, “I can’t do anything else, I believe in it.”

In this lesson, students will grapple with the concept of “justice,” examining it through the lens of Lea Tsemel and her legal work, as well as from the perspectives of those who work by her side and against her. Students will delve into international law with regard to human rights and will assess Lea Tsemel’s strategy of using the legal system as a lever of social change. Relevant to World History, Global Studies, Civics, World Religions, and Law courses.

A Note from Curriculum Creators, Blueshift Education

Our work at Blueshift Education is to develop curriculum, resources, and relevant tools to deepen understanding on social justice issues in order to empower people, foster empathy, and bring about meaningful and lasting change. The documentary Advocate offers a compelling example and a unique opportunity to engage in this kind of transformational educational work. The film presents the story of one woman who has committed her life to the work of justice, upholding the law, and protecting the human rights of her clients in the face of entrenched and emotional opposition. In the summer of 2020 these critical issues are, quite literally, under a spotlight in the streets of cities across America and around the world. More than ever educators and students need tools to help navigate disagreement, negotiate for change, reach compromise, and respect the viewpoints of others, especially those with whom you disagree. We hope the essential questions, the select film clips, and the thoughtful exercises for Advocate offer an opening for educators and students to reflect on their own beliefs and work towards a more just world for all.

A Note to Teachers

This lesson is not a history lesson on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but it is impossible to divorce the documentary from the cultural, political, and historical context in which it occurs. With this negotiation in mind, it is important when using Advocate in a classroom to be familiar with the terminology if questions arise. We see using Advocate in the classroom within the context of units that cover post-World War II history, post-colonial studies, human rights issues and international human rights law.

The Key Terms and Concepts Document included with this lesson offers brief descriptions of terms and events referred to in the clips, and further teaching resources about the conflict are available in the resources section. As represented in Clip 1, the terms a person uses to refer to aspects of the conflict often reveal their political point of view. The definitions in the document are drawn from the non-partisan Middle East Research and Information Project, a non-governmental organization that reports on Middle East affairs. Because the documentary is spoken in Arabic and Hebrew with English subtitles, transcripts of the film clips are included in the lesson.

Keep in mind that Advocate and this lesson shine a light on violence and human rights injustices happening as a result of the Israeli occupation. Students who feel invested in the conflict may feel triggered by the content. Furthermore, the last 90 seconds of Clip 3, “A Big Problem in Human Terms” includes footage of an aggressive interrogation of a 13-year-old boy that may be upsetting to some students. Watch the clips ahead of time, consider your students and decide what content feels appropriate to bring into your class.

Advocate: Perceptions of Justice: Key Terms and Concepts

Subject Areas:

• World History/Global Studies
• Civics
• Constitutional Law
• Religious Studies

Grade Levels: [9-12]

Objectives:

In this lesson, students will:

• Consider the definition of “justice” in the context of the law and how individuals perceptions of justice are shaped
• Explore the context and moral framework that underpins Lea Tsemel’s legal work
• Articulate how the legal system might be used as a strategy of social change, and as a strategy to continue conflict

Materials:

• Film clips and equipment to project them
• Handout One, Transcripts for Clips 1, 2, and 3
• Handout Two, Transcripts for Clips 4 and 5
  • Advocate: Perceptions of Justice: Handouts

Time Needed:

Two 55-minute class periods with optional homework in between.

A political firebrand in her home country, Israeli lawyer Lea Tsemel is known by her opponents as "the devil's advocate," for her decades-long defense of Palestinians who have been accused of resisting the occupation, both violently and non-violently. Tsemel, who pushes the praxis of a human rights defender to its limits, takes on two contentious court cases in her tireless quest for justice.

Ver el avance de la película aquí e inscríbete para recibir actualizaciones aquí.

Y ella podría ser la siguiente sigue las campañas de base de seis mujeres de color con candidaturas a cargos políticos durante las muy disputadas elecciones estadounidenses de mitad de periodo en 2018. Producido por directoras de color, el documental ofrece un vistazo entre bastidores a estas mujeres líderes cuyas motivaciones personales, coaliciones políticas, y activismo al nivel más popular superaron las expectativas de sus oponentes y del público en general— desafiando en el proceso las nociones tradicionales de lo que significa ser político en EE. UU. La primera parte de las dos de la película provee un marco para un análisis crítico de la manera en que la raza, el género, y la clase operan en la política electoral en los Estados Unidos, centrándose en cómo los cambios demográficos se perciben como una amenaza a las estructuras de poder "democráticas" contemporáneas e históricas.