3.+Literature+&+Materials

**Cultural Oppression **
 __The Great Migration:An American Story__ - Jacob Lawrence- artist, poem by Walter Dean Myers
 * Literature/Art**

__Red Scarf Gir__l Ji-Li Jiang

"Oppression" Langston Hughes (poem)

"Under New Leadership" - Scholastic online article on Afghan president

__An Armenian Family__ Keith Elliott Greenberg

__No More Strangers: Young Voices from a New South Africa__ (nonfiction- personal narratives)

__Nelson Mandela: No Easy Walk to Freedom__ Barry Denenberg (nonfiction)

__The Arrival__ by Shaun Tan, Graphic novel- immigrants escaping oppression

// Fighting 20th Century Tyranny // - DVD, people taking great risks for the better of their family or countrymen Oppression- song by Ben Harper // Persepolis // - movie (also a book, PG-13 so we would need parental permission) animated movie on the Islamic Revolution. Autobiographical graphic novel. Here is the preview from you tube-- it is in French. [] // The Lemon Tree //// (in Arabic/Hebrew/French) rated PG. // // Salma, a widow, lives alone eking a meagre living from the lemon trees her father planted over 50 years ago. Her home and her lemon grove are on the Israel-Palestine border. When the Israeli Minister of Defence moves in across the fence, her grove is considered a security threat and Salma has to fight to keep her livelihood and heritage. Her seemingly hopeless battle through the Israeli courts is hampered by military bureaucracy and a lack of community and family support.
 * Films/DVD's/Music/Websites **

The Courageous Heart of Irene Sendler, Hallmark Hall of Fame movie //

**Gender Oppression **
//Failure is Impossible – The History of American Women’s Rights//, by Martha E. Kendall //The Women of Afghanistan Under the Taliban,// by Rosemarie Skaine //Women in the Middle East – Tradition and Change//, by Ramsay M. Harik and Elsa Marston
 * Non-fiction**

//Porcupine//, by Meg Tilly //Homeless Bird,// by Gloria Whelan //Keeping Corner//, by Kashmira Sheth //The Breadwinner, Parvanna’s Journey,// and //Mud City//, by Deborah Ellis
 * Fiction**

//19 Varieties of Gazelle – Poems of the Middle East//, by Naomi Shihab Nye
 * Poetry**

[] []
 * Girl poet takes on the Taliban with her pen**
 * **Story Highlights**
 * With her pen, 11-year-old Pakistani Tuba Sahaab takes on the swords of the Taliban
 * She crafts poems on children in Pakistan oppressed by hard-core Islamic militants
 * Girls have been banned from school, their books burned, as militants spread terror
 * Refusing to be silent, despite the danger, she regularly speaks out in the media
 * **[|Next Article in World »]**
 * Nadia Anjuman Herawi (Nadja Anjoman) - Poems by a young woman who mysteriously died at the age of 25.**

· //My Forbidden Face: Growing Up Under the Taliban: A Young Woman's Story// could be a publishing sensation based on the dramatic title, the exotic, mesmerizing blue cover art and the fact that Karenna Gore Schiff's name also is featured on the cover as the writer of the book's preface. Written under the name of Latifa, this story is compelling and sad yet breaks no new ground in our understanding of life under the veil. (Although the book is written at a reading level that middle and high school students can tackle, parents should decide whether young teens can deal with Latifa's accounts of horrific violence.) Still, in light of the continued presence of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, it's a harsh and valuable reminder of the brutality of the Taliban. The young Latifa, who was able to attend school during the Soviet occupation and the civil wars between the mujahedin and the communist regime, was forced to become a prisoner in her home and give up her hopes of attending the university when the Taliban took hold. For Latifa's family and fellow Kabulis, the actions the Taliban take in the name of religion are considered hypocritical. Among the items stolen from Latifa's childhood by the Taliban: videos, TV, family photographs, movies, newspapers, whistling tea kettles, cosmetics, Western-style clothing and the family pets, including a bird and a dog. Also abandoned: music, education, medical care. Latifa calls the Taliban's capricious whims a plot focused on "the extermination of the Afghan woman." And it's not so much the burqa ("this isn't clothing, it's a jail cell"), but what it stands for. Latifa writes: "They are killing us stealthily, in silence locking us out of society no more school for girls, no more health care for women, no more fresh air for any females. It's an absolute denial of individual liberty, a real sexual racism." //Zoya's Story// is another simply told yet achingly realistic tale of a girl whose parents are killed by Muslim fundamentalists when she is 14. Zoya reveals no details of how her parents were killed out of fear her identity will be discovered. But her parents' disappearance spurs her to continue their work, particularly her mother's commitment to rescue the victims of sexual, physical and emotional abuse in Afghanistan. In 1992, at age 14, Zoya moved to Pakistan with her grandmother. She attended a school funded by RAWA donations. As Zoya's Story begins, she is crossing over the Pakistan border into Afghanistan on a mission for RAWA, her first trip to her homeland in five years. As she looks through the mesh opening of the burqa, which chafes her eyelids, she worries that the Taliban will search her bags and find the photographs that document murders the Taliban committed by stoning, burning or hanging their victims. The men whose arms have been amputated for thievery, the women whose fingertips have been chopped off because they dared to wear nail polish. As a child in Kabul, she accompanied her brave mother as she spread the word of RAWA throughout the city. That Zoya should carry on her mother's work is a tribute to her faith in the future of her country. When Zoya was approached by two foreign journalists who encouraged her to share her story in a book, Zoya asked, "What is special about my story?" //Zoya's Story//, like Latifa's, is a universal one of human rights violations. The fact that we cannot see the faces of these young writers is a painful reminder of their circumstances and the roles they will play in their country's evolution.

**Racial Oppression **
Farewell to Manzanar by James A. Houston, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, and James D. Houston excerpts from Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay Elephant Run by Roland Smith Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata The Color of Water by James McBride [] The poem off this website is more like a statement. I think the statement is worth having students discuss and direct in regards to our unit: All of us belong to a greater whole, and whether you call it society or civilization or country, it has a deep and profound impact on our lives. Some seek to escape it. Some to embrace it. All of us, though, should seek to understand it. the site also has select poems discussing teens' opinions on racism: [] The Color of Friendship Directed by Kevin Hooks Ruby Bridges (Disney) Websites www.racismnoway.com
 * Non-Fiction **
 * Fiction **
 * Poetry**
 * Films**

**Political/Religious Oppression **
= Non-fiction: = Great Escapes - Escapes from Religious Oppression (Hardcover) by Stephen Curry The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia by Orlando Figes A Seat at the Table: Huston Smith in Conversation with Native Americans on… by Huston Smith = = Understanding the Holy Land (SE) (Paperback) by Ann Bausum The Women's Rights Movement by Wu Ningkun and Li Yikai = The Good Women of China: Hidden Voices by Xinran The No-Nonsense Guide to Islam by Ziauddin Sardar In the Beginning by Irina Ratushinskaya = =

A Bend in the River by V. S. Naipaul The Color of My Words by Lynn Joseph The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by nafisiazar Of Love and Shadows by Isabel Allende The Crucible by <span class="wiki_link_ext">Arthur Miller The Archivist's Story by <span class="wiki_link_ext">Travis Holland 1984 by George Orwell
 * Fiction:**

DVD
[|Five Days to Change the World] (DVD-R/ min.) Students at the largest world peace conference in history take charge of their own destiny

[|The Garifuna Journey] (DVD/46 min.) Celebrating the resiliency of the Garifuna people and their traditions

View From A Grain Of Sand by <span class="wiki_link_ext">Meena Nanji
<span class="wiki_link_ext">**Great Books: 1984** (27:00) Big Brother. George Orwell gave a new synonym for **<span style="background: yellow none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;">oppression ** in his bleak post-WWII novel. Follow Winston Smith and Julia as they hide from the Thought Police and end up in infamous “Room 101.” Orwell’s novel resonates as a warning against thought control long after the timeliness of the book’s title. Grade(s) : 9-12 2001 Discovery Channel School

<span class="wiki_link_ext">**Clash of Religions and Continents** (02:46) From 1096 to 1291 eight **<span style="background: yellow none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;">war **s are fought for control of what two religions feel is their **<span style="background: yellow none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;">holy ** land, the city of Jerusalem. Grade(s) : 6-8 2004 Discovery Channel School

**Fiction**
Beam, M. (2008). Can you spell revolution? USA: Penguin Group. Interest Level: YA

Lavender, W. (2005). Just jane: a daughter of England caught in the struggle of the american revolution. USA: Gulliver Books. Interest Level: 6-8th grade

**Non-Fiction**
Burke, E., & Mitchell, G.L. (2008). Reflections on the revolution in france. USA: Stanford University Pres. Interest Level: 12th grade and beyond

Cushman, T. (2005). A matter of principle. Los Angeles, California: University of California Pres. Interest Level: 12th grade and beyond

Dubois, L. (2004). Avengers of the new world: The story of the haitian revolution. USA: First Harvard University Press. Interest Level: 12th grade and beyond

Llosa Vargas, A. (2005). Liberty for latin america: how to undo five hundred years of state oppression. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. Interest Level: 12th grade and beyond

Malaspina, A. (2004). The chinese revolution and mao zedong in world history. USA: Enslow Publishers. Interest Level: 6-9th

Non Fiction Picture Books for the Intermediate Student
Feelings, T. (1995). The middle passage: White ships/black cargo. New York: Dial Books. Interest Level: YA

Sis, P. (2007).The wall: Growing up behind the iron curtain. South China Printing Company, China: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. Interest Level: 4-8th

Poetry
Engle, M. (2008). The surrender tree: Poem of cuba’s struggle. New York: Henry Holt and Company. Interest Level: YA

Ortiz Cofer, J. (1998). The year of our revolution: New and selected stories and poems. Houston, TX: Pinata Books. Interest Level: YA

DVD
Hirsch, L. (Director). (2003). Amandla! A revolution in four part harmony [Documentary film]. USA: Lions Gate Entertainment. Rating: PG-13 Interest Level: 9-12th grade and beyond