Objectives: In this Paper, I examine how high school social studies content standards in the United States address fundamental concepts of American governance, particularly the concept of democracy. Methods: I conducted a qualitative textual analysis of government/civics content standards from all 50 states, Washington DC, and the Advanced…

Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" describes a callous America in which the dollar trumps justice. It famously exposed the American meatpacking industry's loathsome practices and prompted federal consumer-protection laws. It is, however, primarily a sympathetic sketch of the foreign born, those fabled "masses yearning to breathe free" that Americans…

This seminar was part of the Council of Europe's work on education for international understanding and it was the third in a series of European teachers' seminars on the links between Europe and other regions and cultures. The aims of the seminar were to: (1) identify what is taught about the United States in secondary schools in a representative…

The discipline of American Studies is defined in terms of its theory, methodology and content; and a model course for American Studies is presented which is oriented toward general education studies at the lower division level. (Author/NHM)

The legend of the gunfighter-lawman, frontier justice, and the extent of violence in western history are suggested as possible course content to make history more relevant and interesting. (DE)

The objectives, organization, procedures, suggested resources, and evaluation of a secondary level, individualized program in Afro-American history are provided. (DE)

An experimental high school course involved team teaching of American history and literature on the basis of five American novels. Learning objectives, class structure, curriculum units, supplementary materials, and evaluation techniques are described. (AV)

A pedagogy appropriate to college level courses and comprised of interdisciplinary content, multidisciplinary faculty, and students from diverse academic backgrounds and with varying levels of skills merits development. A taxonomy of some of the difficulties in the construction of such a course in Mexican American studies, for example, focuses on…

Although the American studies movement has gained widespread popularity within its 50 years of existence, it is still devoid of any controlling assumptions, models, and coherence. The intellectual disarray which has recently characterized the movement has encouraged one group of scholars, the "reflexionists," to examine the causes of that…

The five units on American Urban Studies presented in this curriculum guide are designed to examine the development, present conditions, and alternatives for the future of urban areas. Major emphasis in these units is on contemporary urban problems and possibilities for their solution. The major objectives covered in this course outline are: (1)…

Describes a St. Olaf College (Minnesota) seminar on German- Americana, and suggests ways in which instructors in other areas of the country can create a course reflecting local experience. The course, taught in German, offers information about the broad spectrum of German language and German immigrant life in the United States. A dozen goals of…

This book is grounded in the conviction that artists have a special capacity to illuminate differences when cultures clash, to expose the reasons for conflict, and to provide solutions to cultural clashes. The resources for teachers in the humanities and American studies that are listed include at least one art form in each syllabus or essay,…

Asserts that not using a cross-cultural approach to American Studies is paradoxical, since comparative analysis is the principal sociological method of discovery and proof. Describes an American Studies course in which the core is comparative analyses of work and education in other countries. (CFR)

This paper argues for an educational orientation to American studies in high school that contributes toward individual growth and a sense of compassion toward humanity. According to the author, conventional schooling is a process of training youth to fit into out society by internalizing the accepted behavior and attitudinal norms. The student…

This is a teacher's guide for a seventh grade social studies course designed to help students better understand themselves by examining the physical aspects and the social systems of the world. Background information, objectives, and a course outline are provided in the introduction. For each unit of the course there is an introduction and…