TeachGlobalEd.net

A Life Like Mine tells the story of how children live around the world through four themes:  survival, development, protection, participation.  Excellent images and text suitable for upper elementary and middle school students. Truly has a global perspective. Includes many visuals and maps.

Is is published by UNICEF.

Recommended because it contains excellent case studies that examine the coexistence and clashes of different cultures as they impinge on human rights issues, as well as thoughtful critiques of philosophical position. The contributors have done an outstanding job of illuminating complex problems, offering thoroughly researched, probing analyses and expositions that are both well-written and extensively documented. This is a work that can be recommended highly, both to those pursuing the study of cross-cultural validity of rights and to persons with more general interests. Teachers can order this book from www.amazon.com.
Review from Human Rights Quarterly.

Citation: An-Na’im A. A. (Ed.) (1995). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. $19.95.

Recommended because it explores language and human rights issues, including language discrimination in international law, ethnicity and race as proxies for language discrimination, the nature of language issues and their importance in human rights, and indigenous peoples and language. The author discusses the connection between language and human rights because language is usually difficult for individuals to change and it usually marks the community to which an individual belongs, language becomes a signaling point like race or religion, identifying those who are different and therefore potential targets for discrimination. This book is available from www.amazon.com.
Review from Human Rights: A Reference Handbook

Citation: De Varennes, F. (1996). Boston: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. $192.50.

Recommended because it is a lovely picture book about the complicated subject of human rights. It is educational and fun to read. Elementary school teachers will find this book useful and practical for teaching children human rights. This beautifully illustrated book will captivate all, especially children. Written by world renowned children’s author Ruth Rocha and featuring the vivid linocut illustration of Brazilian artist Otavio Roth, the book helps us all to understand better the importance of human rights. This book is available from www.amazon.com.

Citation: Rocha, R., & Roth, O. (1990). United Nation Publications $9.95

Recommended because Kisetsu is a four-volume series of Japanese-language textbooks for junior high and high school students. It aims to help students become not only successful communication in Japanese but also self-directed learners, skillful problem-solvers, and cooperative and productive participants in the global community. It is compatible with the National Standards; the table of contents indicates which five goals of foreign language education — Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons and Communities are incorporated. Cultural topics to promote cross-cultural understanding are enhanced with hundreds of color photos. This review was originally written by the Association of Teachers of Japanese.

Citation: Tsuda, Kazuo., & Shimano, Masatoshi. Kisetsu Educational Group Haruichiban: The Way to Successful Japan (volume 1) $44.50

Recommended because it provides biographical sketches of women human rights activists from all over the world. Sixteen women are featured addressing authoritarian governments, struggling with race and ethnicity, seeking environmental justice, upholding women’s rights, and making the world safe for children. This book is available from www.amazon.com.
Review from Human Rights: A Reference Handbook

Citation: Bouvard, M. B. (1996). Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources, $18.95.

Recommended because this volume is a result of a public conference held in Israel. It addresses the nature of torture, the social response to torture in Israel, participation of health professionals in the practice of torture, the role of codes of medical ethics, and the legal struggle against torture. A large appendix of relevant documents and affidavits by prisoners is included. This book is available from www.bn.com.
Review from Human Rights: A Reference Handbook

Citation: Gordon, N, & Marton, R., in association with the Association of Israeli-Palestinian Physicians for Human Rights. (Eds.) (1995). Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Zed Books. $29.95.

Recommended because David Goodman examines the dramatic changes which have come about in South Africa since apartheid. He demonstrates how the church in South Africa has not only helped to perpetuate injustice but also helped to influence forgiveness and reconciliation. He tells the story of the grandson of H.F. Voerwoort, the architect of apartheid. The grandson joined the African National Congress and left the Dutch Reformed Church. This book would be appropriate for students in grades 9-12.

Citation: Goodman, David. University of California ISBN 0520232038 Press 1999

Recommended because this Noble prize winning work is a classic novel dealing with ethnic conflict. By centering the story around a bridge built in eastern Bosnia in the second half of the 16th century, Andric gives a feel for the history of relationships of Christians and Muslims in the area. The story bridges the time period of the mid-sixteenth century to World War I and shows the complexity of ethnic and religious ties of the people of the Balkans to their locale. This work of historical fiction is appropriate for students in grades 10-12.

Citation: Andric, Ivo. University Chicago Press 1977 ISBN 0-226-02045-2.

Recommended because this book introduces a theory that allows for an understanding of ethnic violence. The author divides what he calls an emotion-based theory into four component parts. They consist of resentment, fear, hatred, and rage. In the second part of his book he applies this theory by comparing Baltic States in the twentieth century, Czechoslovakia 1848-1998 and Yugoslavia. This book is appropriate for students in grades 10-12.

Citation: Petersen, Roger D. Cambridge Press ISBN 0521007747

Recommended because although this handbook was designed for intelligence analysts to use in thinking about and attempting to anticipate ethnic conflict, students in grade 12 could find it useful in studying causes of ethnic conflict. The book offers a three-stage model for examining mobilization for ethnic state conflict.

Citation: Tellis, Ashley Arroya Center 1998 ISBN 0833024957

Recommended because it is derived from the raw, primitive journal of a homeless mother of three struggling to survive in a squalid Brazilian garbage dump. The dairy of Carolina Maria de Jesus described the daily routine life in a favela- a human garbage dump, house of the poor, the hungry, and the desperate. The author illustrated the way daily life threatened these poor favelados. The hunger that invaded every shack, particularly hers, drove her to hunt for paper and metal in order to acquire just enough money to keep her and her children alive. The black population in Brazil was treated as none human beings. They were discriminated against by most of the white majority population. It clearly reflects the title of the book “Child of the dark.”

Citation: Jesus, G. M. D., translated by Clair, S. D. (1962). New York : New American Library. $6.95.

Recommended because this atlas, with vivid maps and graphics, provides a comprehensive account of the food chain – from plough to plate – and reveals how it affects the lives of us all. Food is vital for our health and welfare, and its production critically affects the environment as well as the wealth of nations. Despite a rapid increase in trade, hundreds of millions of people remain hungry, while chronic obesity is increasing worldwide. Much of the grain that could amply feed the worlds population is fed instead to cattle to satisfy the rich worlds appetite for meat. New technologies, such as GM crops, promise to increase food production, but are they completely safe? How do markets work, and whose vested interests are at stake? What are the impacts of different forms of farming, processing, transportation, retailing and changing eating habits?
Reviewed by www.peopleandplanet.net

Citation: Millstone, E. & Lang, T. Earthscan. (2003). New York : Penguin. $23.95.

Recommended because Ding Ling is China’s best known twentieth-century woman writer. She became prominent for her shocking story written in 1928 which portrays the inner life and lusts of a sickly yet ambitious, selfish yet self-conscious young woman. Sophie, who lives in Beijing, is trapped by her intellectualized ideals which cannot be fulfilled in real life. Bold for its expression of a young woman’s sexual impulses and desire to control, this novella strikes Western readers as surprisingly modern.
Reviewed by East Asian Project of Columbia University. http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/

Citation: Translation by W. J. F. Jenner, trans. Beijing: Panda Books

Recommended because new editions each year contain collections of 30-40 up to date articles from scholars and the world press that examine the most important global issues facing the planet.  The book has a world map, a glossary, a topic guide, and a list of related websites. This is one of many Annual Editions series. Others (see list on the Annual Editions website) are also relevant to specific issues as well as regional studies.

Citation: Jackson, Robert M. (editor). Guilford, CT: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin. http://www.dushkin.com

Recommended because it presents first-year data from the three-year ‘Global Impact’ project. The book provides commentary, quotes, illustrations, and graphics that explore global issues and perspectives in education. The book explores peace education, human rights education, development education, environmental education, and aims for (global) education (for action). The book also discusses the process of schooling, schools in a world of change, and infusing global perspectives in the early childhood classrooms (beginning early). The book supports subject-based approaches to infusing global perspectives in secondary schools. The book offers ten starting points for teachers who want to teach as if the planet really mattered.

Citation: Greig, Sue, Pike, Graham, & Selby, David. London: World Wildlife Fund for Nature/Kogan Page.

Recommended because it provides global perspectives on peace as more than just the absence of war. It provides analyses of the roots of peace and war by exploring human, nuclear, and environmental crises threatening humanity and our planet. The book provides research from international people and organizations/institutions on proposals for immediate and long-term sustainable peace. Exercise and exercise overviews center on (1) what is culture, (2) the building blocks of culture, (3) styles of communication, (4) culture in the workplace, and (5) the cross-cultural perspective. Chapter 2 contains exercises that explore the concept of self (individualist vs. collectivist), personal vs. societal responsibility (universalist vs. particularist), the concept of time (monochronic vs. polychronic), and locus of control (internal vs. external). The ‘Dialogues’ exercise contains four brief cross-cultural dialogues (with seemingly missing exchanges) where students have to figure out the cross-cultural meanings/misunderstandings in the dialogues.

Citation: Barnaby, Frank (editor). New York: Doubleday. http://www.randomhouse.com/doubleday

Recommended because it presents the works of acclaimed writers who analyze, explore, and discuss the pervasiveness of prejudice throughout human history (i.e., slavery, the Holocaust, apartheid, ethnic conflict in Europe and Africa, etc.). The book is divided into three sections: Section 1 uses essays to introduce readers to the values of prejudice, Section 2 explores prejudice through intercultural fiction and poetry, and Section 3 offers written works that explore hope, reconciliation, commonality, and peace. The book also provides (1) brief bibliographical biographies of contributors, (2) an appendix of selected human rights declarations and statements on race, and (3) a resource list of organizations that promote global understanding and the eradication of prejudice worldwide.

Citation: Gioseffi, Daniela. New York: Anchor Books/Doubleday.

Recommended because it provides global overviews on (1) international terrorism, (2) landmine and military dumping grounds, (3) military spending and nuclear testing, (4) arsenals and the arms trade, and (5) NATO and the UN. The book also provides full-color maps that explore (1) the dynamics of war, (2) wars of identity and belief, (3) wars of poverty and power, (4) the military world, and (5) the dynamics of peace.

Citation: Smith, Dan. London: Penguin.

Recommended because it documents the lives of working children in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Mexico, and the United States. The book explores (1) why children work, (2) where children work, and (3) what can be done about the problems and issues associated with child labor. Here’s a quote from Doi, a 13 year old factory worker in Bangkok, Thailand: “My father died and my mother just didn’t have enough money to feed all my brothers and sisters, so that’s why I came to work. What I really miss is games. We don’t have any time to play football or anything like that. I don’t understand why we can’t have some time in the evening to play. I suppose it’s because there’s so much work to do.”

Citation: Parker, David L. with Engfer, Lee, & Conrow, Robert. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications.

Recommended because it is an outstanding compilation of excerpts from twenty-seven of Food First’s best writings designed to provide food system activists and the non-specialist general reader with an integrated overview of the world food system, how global politics affect hungry people, and the impact of the free market on the growth, processing, and distribution of foodstuffs. Through its research, Food First has shown that there is more than enough food for every man, woman, and child on the planet, but all too often the poor do not have access to that food. Rviewed by www.foodfirst.org

Citation: Boucher, D. M. (1999). Food First Books.

Recommended because this book discusses the growth of both food output and arable land in general and in the context of the specific conditions (population pressure, economic conditions, etc.) in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It also provides a short history of world hunger and chapters on population, poverty, and the contributions of trade and food aid round out this valuable resource. Although the authors well-researched analysis of the world food problem does not offer any easy solutions to the problems of hunger. What he does, very effectively, is to show what has happened in the past 30 years and to infer what lessons might be learned that could be of help in the future. Reviewed by Library Journal.

Citation: Grigg, D. (1993). Blackwell Publishers. $29.95.

Recommended because as this appealing book on a grim subject (co-written by mom Tracy with her pre-teen daughter, Sage, at Sage’s instigation) uses stories, drawings, maps, and straightforward narrative to inform, inspire, and move young readers away from guilt and indifference toward positive ways to attack a very serious problem, 40,000 children die each day from hunger worldwide. Giving 50 practical ways to fight hunger, the book includes lists of resources and audiovisual materials, a bibliography, and a glossary. This book is suitable for students from Grades 4-9. Reviewed from Center for World Education, University of Vermont.

Citation: Howard, T. A. & Howard, S. A. (1992). Andrews and McMeel Publishing. $2.25.

Recommended because Go MAD! is full of fascinating facts, thought-provoking statistics and 365 practical tips to help you make a difference. Go Make A Difference! Recommended for K-12 students. If you care about the environment and aren’t sure how to make a positive difference, look no further. Reviewed by environ – for people, the environment and the future.

Citation: The Ecologist.

Recommended because this book was first published in 1953. Global examination of historical and contemporary records supports her premise that women were forced by tradition into making choices from a secondary or inferior position in relation to men. Neither petulant nor emotional, this logical treatise postulates that pervasive injustice vitiates relationships between the sexes. Recommended for high school students. Reviewed by Adeline Oakley / Boston Chapter Women’s National Book Association (WNBA).

Citation: de Beauvoir, Simone. (1989). New York: Vintage Books. $17.00.

Recommended because this inspiring biography shows how a determined young woman overcame prejudice and poverty to become one of the first female African-American doctors in the United States. Ages 8 to 12. Reviewed by Adeline Oakley / Boston Chapter Women’s National Book Association (WNBA).

Citation: Butts, Ellen, & J. Schwartz. (1995). W. H. Freeman & Co. $14.95.

Recommended because this book was first published in 1975. Her book describes the “ghosts” who haunted her childhood: figures from Chinese cautionary tales and white-faced Americans whose “otherness” frightened her immigrant parents. Retracing the legends, she has come to terms with ghosts and feels the blood of the Woman Warrior in her veins. Recommended for high school students. Reviewed by Adeline Oakley / Boston Chapter Women’s National Book Association (WNBA).

Citation: Kingston, Maxine Hong. (2000). Vintage International Edition. $12.80.

Recommended because this book is about the struggles and strategies of women grappling to become human rights advocates capable of effecting changes in law and practice to uphold women’s basic rights. In this book, champions of women’s rights from Central and Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States tell their own stories about the opportunities and challenges they faced as they engaged their governments in the profoundly democratic process of human rights advocacy. Becoming an Advocate Step by Step is as much about their experience and “step by step” learning as it is about the policy changes effected through advocacy. It is about both product and process. Recommended for high school students. Reviewed by Women, Law & Development International.

Citation: Schuler, Margaret, & Reilly, Molly (Eds.). (1993). Women Law & Development Intl. $15.00.

Recommended because it contains teacher-developed materials on teaching about managing conflict on an interpersonal or community level. The resources and materials, presented as teaching units, were created by middle/high school teachers and college/university professors and are recommended for middle, high, and college/university-level students. The book has four simulations on (1) teaching successful conflict management skills, (2) gender differences in conversation and negotiation (i.e., the Red/Green Exercise of same gender group conflict, competition and negotiation), (3) where should a city build a homeless shelter, and (4) negotiation at a governor’s school.

Citation: Wilson, Angene, & Mingst, Karen. Washington, DC: U.S. Institute of Peace.

Recommended because this study seeks to provide an initial assessment of the war in Afghanistan and the lessons to be drawn in terms of war fighting, intelligence, and force transformation. The Afghan conflict is anything but a conventional war-it is asymmetric warfare fought by different sides with different goals and perceptions using radically different methods and fought as a theater battle in a broader global struggle against terrorism. Asymmetric wars tend to be highly adaptive, and this war is both regional and global in scope. It is also a struggle fought in a context where it may come to interact with other conflicts such as the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian struggle and a possible U.S. effort to drive Saddam Hussein from power. So, while it is easier to draw lessons than to validate them, this study begins that process. (From CSIS)
Reviewed by Foreign Policy Association.

Citation: Codesman, Anthony H. (2002). $21.95.

Recommended because The New Crusade examines the myths that have arisen around the war on terrorism and the ways they are used to benefit a small elite. Mahajan demonstrates how accepted accounts of the causes of the U.S. military intervention in Afghanistan, the conduct of the war, and its consequences have been systematically distorted. He shows how global power is being redefined in the process and explores the new directions the war is likely to take. This book could be used to provide rich information about war on terrorism and Americas roles against the war. Recommended for high school students.
Reviewed by Monthly Review Press.

Citation: Mahajan, Rahul. (2002). $17.95.

Recommended because Responding to Terrorism: The Challenges for Democracy engages students in consideration of the issues surrounding the 9.11.01 attacks in a constructive context and promotes dialogue about future policy directions. This program includes background readings, framework of policy options, suggested Slavic and Eastern Europe-day lesson plans, on-line ballot activity, and links to related curriculum and related materials.
Reviewed by The Choice Program.

Citation: The Choice Program http://www.choices.edu/curriculum_unit.cfm?id=26 Teacher set $15.00, Student Texts (15 or more texts with Teacher’s Guide), $7 a copy

Recommended because this children’s guide – one of an excellent series of 21st Century Debates – is aimed at 11 to 16-year-old schoolchildren. It looks at the impact of human population growth on the planet and how this could affect our future. Over the last fifty years the world’s population has more than doubled. According to some experts, our ever-increasing demands will eventually exhaust the earth’s supplies of fuel, water and food. Reviewed by Peopleandplanet.com.

Citation: Bowden, Rob (2002). ($28.56).

Recommended because this reader achieves such a high standard of quality that it probably has several more years of use in the classroom. The individual readings-some reprinted from other places, some solicited for this book-are organized into sections focused on population and consumption, family-planning, reproductive health and rights, population and gender, population and religion, immigration, and the link between population and national security. What distinguishes this volume from some others on the market is the emphasis on social rather than environmental aspects of population; thus Beyond the Numbers would be highly suitable as a supplement in a social studies course, at the high school or college level. One regrettable oversight is the absence, in the section on population and religion, of any serious commentary on Islam. Many of the nations still experiencing rapid population growth are Muslim, and religion surely plays as strong a role in the family-planning of those places as Christianity does in other places. Reviewed from World Population by Gilbert, Geoffrey.

Citation: Mazur, Laurie Ann (Ed.) (1994). Washington, DC: Island Press.

Recommended because it is an edited book with chapters on the context and practice of global education. Chapter titles include: (1) A Rationale for Global Education, (2) Schooling in America Today: Potential for Global Studies, (3) Global Education: A Conflict of Images, (4) Curriculum Considerations in Global Studies, (5) School Leadership and Global Education, (6) Teacher Development through Global Education, (7) Global Education Partnerships between Schools and Universities, (8) Global Education and the Community, and (9) Global Education as a Change Agent.

Citation: Tye, Kenneth A. (editor). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Available from Interdependence Press. http://www.interdependencepress.com ($14.95).

Recommended because it addresses up-to-date issues in the Middle East with articles written from the viewpoint of modern Middle Eastern people. This is an annual edition therefore the topics are relevant to modern issues. Also, this compilation of writings is supported by on-line help. This book is best suited for high school students. Topics and materials include individual country reports with maps and current political topics, and articles written by people from the Arab World. There is an annotated table of contents with entries giving a brief overview of each of the articles. There is also a topic guide to the articles. Issues addressed in the eighth edition include colonialism, current leaders, democracy, education, equal rights, fundamentalism, history, Islamic law, minorities, origins, Palestine, etc. I recommend you start with the topic guide to articles. It lists a large number of primary resource articles by subject. Available for purchase from Dushkin at www.dushkin.com. Ninth edition released in May 2002. Reviewed byApril Lukacsko, 3/25/02. Start by trying the free online version of Using Annual Editions in the Classroom, a support text, go to http://www.dushkin.com/usingae/index.mhtml and click on the book. Be aware of this being a pdf file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it.

Citation: William Spencer. Guilford, Connecticut: Dushkin-McGraw Hill. 246 pages. $20.94. (OSU)

Recommended because teaching about global concerns through various simulations and games. Topics and materials include a number of classroom activities, including “Missing”, an activity which allows students to role play the family and concerned acquaintances of an imprisoned journalist. Other activities include, “Self-Defense: A Simulation of World War I” and “Pennies: The Scramble for Wealth,” a simulation about world wealth distribution. Be aware of the fact that the publication includes reproducible student handouts. Recommended for Grades 6-12. This resource is originally recommended by Denver University.

Citation: Lamy, Steven, et al. Denver: Center for Teaching International Relations (CTIR) ($34.95).

Recommended because it discusses historical and ideological reasons behind the recent NATO expansion into the Eastern Europe, when Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic joined the Organization. Topics and materials include suggested teacher and student assessment instructions, classrooms activities, primary source documents, handouts, and some assessment ideas. This resource is originally recommended by Denver University.

Citation: Miles, Michael & Schuster, Heidi. CTIR and the Una Chapman Cox Foundation. $29.95

Recommended because this 388 page work contains 15 chapters authored by 17 different contributors. The editors purport this to be a work in which diplomatic innovation is not going to be driven from top down but by different sources of like-minded states and civil society from below. The chapters are divided into I. Frustrations of Leadership; II. Case Studies of Innovation; III. Application of Innovation in the International Arena. The case studies offered in Case Studies of Innovation would prove especially useful in the secondary school curriculum. Reviewed by Ron Reichel.

Citation: Cooper, Andrew F.; English, John; Thakur, Ramesh. United Nations Press. 2002. $31.95.

Recommended because this is a collection of essays containing numerous proposals for reforming international organizations. Dr. Diehl uses this as a text for teaching about global governance. It would prove a useful tool for any secondary classroom teacher who wishes to explore the role of IGOs within the global governance debate. Reviewed by Ron Reichel.

Citation: Diehl, Paul F. July, 2001. ISBN:1555879144. $24.95.

Recommended because The chapters covering Governing Global Problems offer secondary teachers and students a wide variety of topics for study. This book contains 16 chapters. The chapters are divided into three general topics. They are Global Governance Complex, Governing Global Problems and Theories of Global Government. They include the global problems of pandemics, crime, intellectual property rights, maintaining peace and security and many others. Reviewed by Ron Reichel.

Citation: Held, David and McGrew, Anthony G. Cambridge University Press. October, 2002. ISBN:074562734X. $27.50.

Recommended because this book provides a provocative look at how global governance is being conducted by a diverse set of actors. This book argues that multilateral economic institutions are beginning to engage nongovernmental organizations with their own agendas. This is changing the nature and form of global economic governance. The authors examine the relationship between IMF, World Bank, and WTO and the global social forces of women’s movements, environmental movements, and labor. This would prove an invaluable book for secondary teachers wishing to develop curriculum on global governance and globalization. Reviewed by Ron Reichel.

Citation: O’Brien, Robert; Goetz, Anne Marie; Sholte, Jan Aart; Williams, Mark. Cambridge University Press. April, 2000. ISBN:0521774403. $23.

Recommended because in this 96 page work the authors provide suggestions for improved governance and at the same explain how to improve and strengthen the UN. The argue that the UN must lead the way. After introducing the reader to the issues raised by globalization, the authors divide the body of the book into Part 1, Sovereignty and Globalization: Government in a State of Confusion and Part 2, For the Millennium Assembly: Three Imperatives of Governance. They then conclude the work with a section entitled Governing Principles: The United Nations and the Millenium Assembly. The questions raised about the role of the UN within global governance would be of great interest to students and teachers at the secondary school level. Reviewed by Ron Reichel.

Citation: Smith, Gordon and Naim Moises. IDRC/CRDI. 2000. ISBN:0-88936-917-8. $15.