Social Isolation-One Family's Story

You have a belief system and way of life that makes you distrust outsiders due to a political purge.  You live a harsh life in the forest and scavenge daily to feed yourself and your family of 5.  Without hunting or building equipment, you figure out how to create a "home" and hunt barefoot in the snow but mostly eat grasses, berries and bark.  The only people you've seen for 40 years are your family members.  How do you react to strangers and the new innovations they bring?  Would you embrace or reject the things and ideas they brought?

A student sent me a link to this article recently.  It's from Smithsonian Magazine about a family in remote Russia that was so far removed from society for over 40 years that they were not even aware that World War II had occurred.  I will not attempt to do the story justice here, just check out the article.  There is also a link to a Russian documentary about their lives at the end of the article.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/For-40-Years-This-Russian-Family-Was-Cut-Off-From-Human-Contact-Unaware-of-World-War-II-188843001.html



posted by Chuck Schallhorn



The Teaching High School Sociology web site

History of Anti-Semitism

I received an email today from Teaching Tolerance offering a new resource.  Below is the text from the message.  Prejudice and discrimination are two major topics in my sociology course.  One of the best ways to deal with the issue with our students is to acknowledge the historical atrocities that have occurred as well as current issues and give students a lens through which to view these events and incidents.  If this resource is as good as the previous ones from TT, it will be excellent.

In recent years, human rights organizations and government agencies have documented a surge in anti-Jewish rhetoric and acts of violence in countries around the world. A Convenient Hatred: The History of Antisemitism—the newest book by Facing History and Ourselves—reveals the stereotypes that lie at the heart of this hatred.  

Teaching Tolerance is pleased to partner with Facing History and Ourselves to offer A Convenient Hatred to you free of charge. Members of the Teaching Tolerance community may order one copy of A Convenient Hatred at no cost!  

In addition, you are invited to attend Facing History's free online workshop, A Convenient Hatred from March 15-25. The workshop will give educators the opportunity to engage in conversation about how to effectively teach the history of anti-Semitism by addressing the impact of stereotypes. 

Don't wait to order your copy of A Convenient Hatred—the offer ends February 28, 2013! 

The Teaching High School Sociology web site