This study explores significant aspects of the history of Islamic higher education in the central Ottoman lands (Bilad al-Rum) and Greater Syria (Bilad al-Sham) during the approximate period 1530-1650. Two general themes constitute the greatest part of our focus. The first is an examination of the divergent approaches to pedagogy in each…

In this study we examined the impact of four teaching sessions on the history of ancient Mesopotamian mathematics, in a 10th -grade classroom. The sessions were taught primarily with historical objectives by researchers in the history of ancient mathematics. We reconstructed historians' practices and ethos. The presence of the researchers provided…

This paper examines two research questions: How do teachers refer to historical figures when teaching difficult past events? Which approaches to teaching difficult past events are reflected in teachers' ways of talking about historical figures? The paper is based on an analysis of lessons by three 11th grade history teachers in Israel on the…

This article offers reflections and proposes practices that embody principles of diversity and inclusion while embracing spirituality in higher education. This approach to integral education is informed by the philosophy of Sri Aurobindo and Haridas Chaudhuri, founders of the California Institute of Integral Studies. It blends Eastern philosophy…

Previous research has discussed the difficulty of teaching topics related to the Middle East. In our experience, one reason for this difficulty is that students are strongly biased with respect to these topics. This research attempts to systematically identify these biases through surveys and then test the effectiveness of targeted lectures that…

Background/Context: Emotions often accompany discussions of ethnic matters, yet there have been few sustained investigations in education of how, and with what implications, emotional responses are (de)legitimized in the classroom, especially when conflicting historical narratives are involved. Emotions have remained in the margins of educational…

Students should study the culture of a nation like Afghanistan because it is intrinsically significant and will help them understand human nature and experience. Teaching approaches and materials are discussed. (RM)

Barbara Petzen began working as a part-time outreach coordinator at Harvard University's Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES) a week before September 11, 2001. She was finishing her dissertation in Middle Eastern studies, specializing in the Ottoman Empire and Arab history, and thought it would be a good job to have while she completed her…

Presents a strategy for teaching students about Islam from a geographic perspective. Explains that information about the history and spread of Islam is conceptualized as a study of religious spatial diffusion. Suggests that students be kept actively involved in the learning process by study of the carriers of and barriers to the spread of…

History is the study of the past; some of the past is more recent than a glance over many schemes of work might lead us to think. Chris Culpin makes the case for ignoring the 20 year rule and tackling head on--and, crucially, "historically"--the big issues of the very recent past. He shows that critical historical study is precisely what…

Presents a simulation that focuses on Kurdish nationalism and the struggle for autonomy and independence from the states that rule over Kurdish lands. Students assume the roles of either one of the countries directly involved or the governing body of the United Nations. Includes extensive background material. (MJP)

Arabic is the language of the Arab minority in Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and the neighbors of Israel (Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon). Hence, learning Arabic and Arab culture is very important to promoting understanding between Arabs and Jews. The concept of using the internet to promote learning and communication between students in…

The ideas and theories of Immanuel Velikovsky are introduced to social studies teachers and a nine-week minicourse designed to investigate his theories is reported. The contradictions and inconsistencies that Velikovsky found between the events as recorded in original records of the ancient Middle East and the chronological timetable of this…

The theme or story of the pageant is Youth's search for a school in which his threefold being--body, mind, and soul--may find release and fulfillment. This fulfillment has been the purpose of education "down through the ages," however unconsciously or gropingly it has moved toward its goal. In the "school of to-day," however,…