Curriculum Proposal National Endowment for the Humanities:
Mesoamerica Seminar in Oaxaca, Mexico
Christine Jawork / jaworkc@lmsd.org
Lower Merion School District / Harriton High School
Rosemont, Pennsylvania
Global Studies / Grade 9 and 10
Lesson Design and Rationale: This unit is situated in a two-year global studies course for ninth and
tenth graders. It is a thematic unit designed as a case study investigation of art and imagery to uncover
gender relations in societies over time and the evolution of these roles. To understand inequity and the
oppression of women, it is helpful to explore this dynamic over time and place to glean insight and
provide learners a sense of agency in redefining rather than reifying gender relations. The secondary goal
of this unit is to evaluate the definition we (of Euro-descent) often ascribe to ‘literacy’. The folder for
investigation in this unit will consist mostly of images and art as opposed to written text.
Essential Questions:
How do gender roles in a society evolve over time and space?
How do historians interpret the identification of gender and the role of gender in society and
civilization?
To what extent, and for whom, is art and imagery a valid form of literacy?
Common Core Connections:
Standard: CC.8.5.9-10.I
Subject Area: PA Core: History and Social Studies
Grades: 9th Grade, 10th Grade
Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.
Standard: CC.8.5.11-12.F
Subject Area: PA Core: History and Social Studies
Grades: 11th Grade, 12th Grade
Evaluate authors’ differing points of view on the same historical event or issue by assessing the
authors’ claims, reasoning, and evidence.
Standard: CC.8.5.11-12.G
Subject Area: PA Core: History and Social Studies
Grades: 11th Grade, 12th Grade
Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media
(e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a
problem.
Standard Area: CC.8.6
Subject Area: PA Core: History and Social Studies
Grades: 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, 9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade
Writing: Students write for different purposes and audiences. Students write clear and focused text
to convey a well-defined perspective and appropriate content.
Methodology: After an introductory lecture on gender, learners will analyze the roles and status of
women in Mesoamerica as presented in art and images. They will use the Mesoamerican case study model
as presented by me to guide their research and analysis in one of five major civilizations from 1500 BCE
to present. To achieve this goal, the learners will organize into small groups and apply an analysis of
gender and gender roles to one of these five major civilizations. They will create a presentation for their
peers to illustrate their findings. After presentations, learners will peer review, discuss, and analyze
common historical themes and cultural universals in relation to gender in society. The summative
assessment will consist of an evaluative essay on gender, literacy, and the historiography of gender across
time and place.
Time Frame: Fourteen one-hour class periods. (About three and half weeks--as we have a rotating
schedule with skip days every fourth day)
UNIT PROPOSAL
An Historical Analysis of the Evolution of Gender Roles in Societies
Case Study: Mesoamerica
INTRODUCTION (2 days)
I. Why do we study gender and gender roles in a society?
a. Discuss matriarchy, patriarchy and how gender inequity manifests in
civilizations and societies.
b. What are the origins of gender inequity?
- Time
- Place
c. Origins of gender studies and feminist movement in the
USA.
- 1920’s- First wave
- 1970’s- Second wave
II. How are gender and gender roles historically defined in civilizations?
III. How do historians interpret gender roles?
IV. What is literacy? Discuss various forms of literacy.
UNIT BODY
What will we explore?
I. What factors contribute to the definition of and evolution of gender roles and gendered spaces?
a. Internal forces (domestic economy, media, political
institutions, religious institutions…)
b. External forces (migration, media, war, cultural
diffusion)
How will we conduct our exploration?
a. Researching and reading articles to contextualize our studies
from a variety of perspectives to gain a sense of
historical interpretation and historiography.
b. Conducting an historical case study of the evolution of gender
roles (from 1000 BCE to present) in the following regions:
- Mesoamerica / South America
- Fertile Crescent / Middle East
- Harappa/Mohenjo-Daro / Pakistan and India
- Shang / China
- Kingdom of Ghana / City States of West Africa / Present day Ghana
- Rome / Europe
c. The case study will consist of an analysis of art, artifacts, and
images.
IMPLEMENTATION
2 Days
a. The teacher will scaffold and model a case study analysis of
Mesoamerica by presenting images and art from the following
periods for students to analyze.
1. Pre-Classical / Classical / Post /Classical / Pre-contact
2. European Colonial Era
3. Independence Era
4. Present day Neo-Colonial Era
RESOURCES:
I. Read for homework: pages 309 – 319 for an historical framework about pre-classical, classical and
post-classical Mesoamerica:
http://www.wuhsd.org/cms/lib/CA01000258/Centricity/Domain/391/chapter11.pdf
II. Read for homework: http://www.scientificjournals.org/journals2007/articles/1160.pdf
A. Be able to explain how and why the Huitzilan community absorbed the culture of patriarchy as
promoted by the Spanish, and how/why the Santiago community resisted. Be sure to state main point
reasons and support with evidence from the reading.
B. ACTIVITY (Small group analysis in class)
Compare and contrast the way gender and gender roles are expressed in the Huitzilan and Santiago
narratives of “the lazy boy” and the “story of creation”. See handout.
b. In small groups, the learners will collaborate and analyze the
images and draw conclusions about the roles of women and men in
society.
c. After analysis of historical Mesoamerican images and codices,
the learners will discuss their findings in a large group/Socratic
Seminar.
1 Day
d. The learners will then write an essay with a strong and precise
thesis statement about the evolution of gender in Mesoamerica.
The learners will support their thesis with evidence from their
investigation.
6 Days
e. The learners will organize into four groups of five to six and select
a culture group to analyze using the Mesoamerican model as a
guide.
NOTE: This investigation will not be six consecutive days, but rather intermittently over the course of
about three weeks as we study gender issues in the present in the major world regions. The reasoning
behind this approach is that it takes time for ideas to germinate and groups to coalesce and develop.
CONCLUSION
3 Days
a. Publication/Presentation of Investigation and Conclusions
b. Peer Review of Presentations
c. Summative large group discussion of findings.
d. Culminating essay evaluating gender role evolution and historical
events (internal and external) impacting the grand narratives about
gender and gender roles in society.