Discusses the recent plethora of Web sites that are sponsored by racist organizations in Canada. The Canadian Human Rights Commission is exploring whether they have jurisdiction over some of these activities according to the Canadian Human Rights Act. Briefly profiles some of the groups and their activities. (MJP)

Describes a statewide project in South Dakota to wire its elementary and secondary school classrooms for distance education courses. Discusses the use of minimum-security inmates from state prisons to do the wiring; the rural environment; the governor's role; upgrading the electrical infrastructure; security concerns; political issues; inmate…

The British Cultural Studies program at the University of Warwick emphasizes the cultural diversity of Britain. Content includes mythical, cultural, and gender discourses about Britain as they function in economic and political forms; the nexus of economy and culture; and national identities (e.g., Shakespeare). Some course material is appended.…

Addresses youth violence and gangs and describes two initiatives that have effectively responded to gang-related problems. The development and characteristics of school crime and gang activity are discussed, including the political context that conditions intervention, and the proactive strategies that can reduce safety risks and provide better…

Explores the role of television in politics providing historical examples of the use of television and its possible effects on elections. Focuses on television as the dominant medium for politics, the connections among television, advertising, and political money, and ideas for reforming the electoral process. Includes a teaching activity on…

Offers suggestions for using the "1896" website at Vassar College that includes 90 political cartoons, party platforms, candidate biographies, and other background materials on the election of 1896. Provides five approaches to teaching about the election that move beyond the basic facts of the campaign in order to develop students'…

Describes a lesson on the Gilded Age that focuses on eight themes (urbanization, the rise of Jim Crow, populism, politics, immigration, Westward expansion, industrialization, and imperialism) and also incorporates Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences model in order to provide students with various types of learning activities. Gives a list of…

This article relies on a case study of a policy evaluation to illustrate how issues of social justice arise for action or inaction in a political environment. The article uses the case study to show that social justice issue formation is shaped by the personal beliefs of the actors, the prevailing political culture, the evolutionary path of the…

How do we educate for peace in a context of pervasive social violence? This paper explores this question as it presents the development and evaluation of a South African peace education programme at pre-school level. The programme comprised a pre-school curriculum and a teacher development course and was developed in conjunction with a team of…

Judith Butler's philosophical writings on identity have provided inspiring, if occasionally "troubling", ways of rethinking gender. A key contribution has been the challenge to conventional social constructionist ideas and thinking on subjectivity. In developing a paradigm of performativity, Butler's work takes us beyond the territory of identity…

Every year, historians in the United States attend the American Historical Association (AHA), a conference that has met annually since 1884. The AHA draws scholars from all specializations, and it is the primary organization through which the profession is represented. In 1969, the conference met at the Sheraton Park Hotel in Washington, D.C. At…

The goal of this project was to produce a set of civic measures with sound psychometric properties appropriate for use with young people ages 12-18. Measures selected tap aspects of adolescent civic behaviors, opinions, knowledge, and dispositions. The measures are easy to administer and can be used by educators, staff of community-based…

The power of civic education to elicit positive student outcomes has been empirically documented. However, the field is only now beginning to understand the causal processes that bring about these positive changes in young people. "The Civic Mission of Schools" report commissioned by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and CIRCLE (2003) lays out…

In spite of long-standing political tensions between Japan and the People's Republic of China, Japanese remains a highly popular language to learn in Hong Kong. This is evidenced by the growth in number of Japanese-related courses and programmes offered at schools and universities in the Special Administrative Region. Although Japan is a dominant…

"Biological invasions" are now recognized as the cause of significant ecological and economic damage. They also raise a series of less visible social issues. Management of invasive species is often a political process raising questions such as who decides which organisms are to be managed, and who benefits or is affected by different…