Unit 4: Refugees

Lesson 1: Universe of Obligation

CQ: How do we decide who is in our universe of obligation?

QW: Who do you feel most obligated to and why?

Universe of Obligation Worksheet

Share out:

• 1. What criteria do we use to determine who is in or out of our universe of obligation?

  2. What did you struggle with?

  3. What governs the Universe of Obligation of the US?

Homework:

How has 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and the Earthquake in Haiti affected the America’s universe of Obligation?

Lesson 2:

CQ: What shaped the universe of obligation expressed by the US in the 1930s-1940s?

QW: What do you know about the Holocaust that took place in Europe during WWII?

Vocabulary:

Kristalnacht – Night of broken glass/ violent manifestation of German campaign against Jews

anti-Semitism – Prejudice against Jews

Wagner- Rodgers Act – allowed for 20,000 Jewish Children to come to America

Gentile – non-Jew

Refugee – some one seeking a safe haven

Quota – restriction of numbers

Activity: Guarded Gates or Open Door?

Read Poems and Answer Questions

Activity: Video

Case of the Klein Family

Part I

As you watch take notes on arguments in favor of taking in refugees and arguments against

• 1. What were the push factors that compelled the Klein family to come to America?

Reasons to accept refugees                                                     Reasons to reject Refugees

Part II

In America Its Different Adaptation

Overarching Questions:

    * What causes people to be indifferent?

    * What keeps a nation's leaders from offering refugees a safe haven?

    * Why did some people prefer to believe that "race" determines morality and behavior?

    * How do extraordinary times affect the way people perceive government policies?

Lesson 3: St Louis (Art Spiegelman)

CQ: What shaped the universe of obligation expressed by the US in the 1930s-1940s?

QW: Does the US have an obligation to help others in need who come to her shores?

Vocabulary :

Indifference –

Asylum Seekers –

Condoned –

Prophetic –

Cliché –

Persecution –

Indignation –

Reading: Flight from Destiny

Mini-Lesson: How to read a Graphic Piece

- Order

-  Picture plus writing

- Two stories in one

Save the Last Word:

Select your focus image and write your reflections.

Go around in a circle, place your square, discuss, person who placed the square gets the final word.

Homework:

Write a one-page letter to Art Spiegleman and explain what you think about his cartoon. Do you have any advice to help him with his conflict? Do you think he did a good job representing the story of the St. Louis?

Lesson 4: Universal Declaration of Human Rights

CQ: What responsibilities do individuals or groups have to refugees?

QW: What rights did the refugees on the St. Louis have, If any?

WHAT IS A RIGHT?

In a 1947 survey the United Nationals Economic and Social Committee (UNESCO) defined a right as:

    "...condition of living, without which...men cannot give the best of themselves as active members of the community because they are deprived of the means to fulfill themselves as human beings."

*  What categories did you create?

* Did ideas overlap?

* Where was there disagreement?

* Based on this exercise, what do you imagine were some of the points of contention as the document was being negotiated?

Activity: Context for the UDHR

Read Introduction to the UDHR

Spirit reading

Activity:

Write down what you believe are the 5 most important rights that are given or outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Activity: What are the values and restrictions for refugees expressed in the Universal Declaration for Human Rights?

Discussion Questions:

- “How do you think these ideas have been enforced since the

declaration?”

- “How do you think these ideas have been abused since the declaration?”

- “What more do you think countries could do to protect human rights?”

- “What is the importance of this document?”

- “What are the strengths and weaknesses of this document?”

- “Why do you believe the document was created?”

- “What groups or countries do you think may object to the wording of the

document. Why?”

- “How do you think this document compares/contrasts with what

you know of other documents, such as the United States Constitution?”

- “How do you believe an issue such as torture would relate to this

document?”

- “How well do you believe the United States has upheld/does uphold the

values of this document?”

- “What examples, past or present, can you give where human rights have

been violated?”

- “Do you believe the ideas of this document favor democratic

governments or non-democratic governments? Why?”

- “How does the article pertaining to marriage relate to human rights?

How is this relevant in the modern day?”

- “What do you think of the article pertaining to a ‘standard of living’ and

‘necessary social service’? How is this relevant to our society?”

- “What do you think of the clause concerning education?” Do you agree

with the idea of ‘compulsory education’? Why or why not?”

- “Do you believe the real world expectations of these rights is realistic or

implausible? Why?”

Lesson 5: Lost Boys of Sudan

Lesson 6: Asylum Seekers