Using Personal Narratives to Teach a Global Perspective
Jennifer Trost
Utica College, Utica, New York
F O R MANY SEMESTERS, I
taught an introductory class titled "The
Global Perspective: The World Since World War H." In my world studies
classes, I found a successful approach for teaching first-year and non-major students to enjoy reading about the world and to appreciate a global
perspective. I chose a source-based approach and I used intemational
personal or travel narratives for the majority of the reading. Students
are attracted to the personal information rather than a synthesis, and the
narration rather than analysis. They are drawn to specific examples of
other cultures to which they can relate and they are very curious about the
everyday lives of other people in the world.
Problems in teaching a one-semester world history class include dealing
with the dominance of Western culture, decisions about coverage, and student disinterest in the world. Overcoming the deeply rooted Euro-centric
understanding of the world that dominates thinking in American higher
education is difficult. Clearly, this view is changing, but it manifests itself
in countless fundamental ways such as the terms "Third World," "The New
World," "The East," and in the kinds of maps students are used to looking
at which center on the prime meridian or have north in the upper half of
the world.' This shift away from a national or Western focus has raised
important pedagogical questions about how best to help students achieve
a truly global perspective.-^ Another problem is the great deal of information to cover and the choices about what to leave out. In approaching the
The History Teacher
Volume 42 Number 2
February 2009
© Soeiety for History Education
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Jennifer Trost
problem of coverage, others have chosen to use an analytical focus. Peter
Steams stresses change versus continuity across civilizations. Others use
thematic issues such as the rise and fall of great powers, technology, or
long-distance trade across countries.^ These analytical courses tend to emphasize theoretical issues and therefore often generalize about experiences.
They do offer coherence and conceptual clarity that help students make
sense of too much information. Some historians have argued for concentrating on the uniqueness of civilizations, the interaction between them,
and the impact of the past on the present.'' These classes show students
the relevance of history by connecting developments of the past or other
cultures to the everyday aspects of their own lives. Finally, although one
of the effects of the destruction of the World Trade Center Towers on September 11,2001 has been increased recognition that no nation is isolated,
lower division students in the United States are still often uninterested in
the world or do not know how to start learning about other cultures. It is
difficult to get them to "see" their Westem identity. American students'
knowledge of the world is often sketchy at best and, as a result, many
other cultural practices appear only strange to them.
The "Global Perspective" course is part of the general education curriculum and every entering student is required to take it. Many schools
have moved toward including survey classes about world developments
as part of students' general education. The "Global Perspective" course
combines the disciplines of history, economics, and political science
to study the non-Westem world. The course covers the post-colonial
emergence of developing nations, the rise of intemational political and
economic institutions, technological changes, and globalization. This
thematic emphasis challenges many assumptions about national identity
that students bring with them to college.^ Even though the time period
is lirnited to the second half of the twentieth century and the focus is on
some big themes, there is still the issue of which countries or cultures to
study and how.
My "Global Perspective" class has a loose historical structure and is
generally chronological. I begin with background infonnation from the
textbook about nineteenth-century industrialization, colonialism, and nationalism. I remind the students of these foundations often as we read the
personal narratives since the narratives address the late twentieth-century
undoing or evolution of these issues in the form of globalization and the
spread of industrial economies, post-colonial politics, and independence
or identity movements. Next, I set up the Cold War as the historical
backdrop for much of the time span covered by the class. We spend the
rest of the semester reading the personal narratives and the structure of
the course becomes less chronological as we move from region to region.
Using Personal Narratives to Teaeh a Global Perspective
179
This part of the course uses the personal narratives to make comparisons
and explore themes such as community versus individualism, agricultural
versus urban life, and different forms of government. I end the course
with discussions of the current global economy, its effects on the students,
and their place in the world.
In teaching modem world history survey classes, I have found that
in order to keep beginning-level students engaged in such challenges to
their fundamental beliefs, it is crucial for the reading to be as accessible
as possible. I have found, as have other history teachers, that using only
general textbooks can be a disservice to these kinds of classes because
students quickly lose interest and because textbooks can be monolithic*
Books of primary documents rarely have the selection of issues or regions
that I am interested in or find feasible to teach. Photocopied course packs
are expensive and require attention to copyright laws.
Using international personal narratives in my world history classes
offers students in-depth first-person accounts of life in other cultures.^
Personal narratives are autobiographical accounts of living and/or traveling
in specific countries or cultures. Some of the personal narratives I have
used in class are written by visitors to foreign countries, and I call these
travel accounts. Some personal narratives are written by observers of
their own culture, sometimes after they have left home. As students read
these accounts, they follow along with the writers' experiences as they
cope with crossing cultural boundaries. These narratives are accessible
versions of cross-cultural exchange theory, a thematic approach to world
history pioneered by Jeremy Bentley and others.*
By personalizing world history, I have students internalize other kinds
of lives first and then fit those stories into the global pattem or concept
I am trying to show them. By moving them temporarily outside of their
own view, I can then ask them to think critically about how other lives
may be different or similar to theirs. Since the class is primarily about
developing critical thinking skills, the sacrifice of breadth for depth is not
as great as it may seem. If students can successfully master analysis of
one person's view, they can also understand other views.
I have chosen to leverage an amount of coverage for connection and
synthesis for sympathy. Student evaluations of the readings reveal that
they are drawn to storytelling and that they can be inspired by someone
else's life. My students see themselves in these narratives.' They see how
other people their own age go to school, or do not go to school as the case
may be. And by the time they are done with the semester, they understand
why other young people in the world cannot go to school. Tliey see what
other cultures consider to be a trip to the dentist: a swish of motorcycle
gasoline or a scmb with a stick in some countries. Students are fascinated
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Jennifer Trost
by personal hygiene hahits in other countries. They see how other cultures
organize their families, how other cultures treat women and children.
Students are surprised to find that political expression in some countries
can he a matter of life and death. They see how other cultures emphasize
communalism and downplay individualism for the sake of harmony or
physical survival. For instance, in Confucius Lives Next Door hy T. R.
Reid, students read ahout Japanese social stability that comes from a tradition which reinforces group identity and are shocked, and a little skeptical,
at the country's lack of crime. They realize just how much they take the
existence of everyday crime for granted when they read ahout people with
a high standard of living who do not live with the fear of crime.
These hooks are successful for several reasons. Students come to understand on hoth a personal and intellectual level that America and the
West are often not like the rest of the world. They come away with a real
sense of their privilege and how their privilege rests on others' deprivation. They hegin to appreciate how consumer-oriented their lives are.
Students also see that on a day-to-day basis, they actually do have much
in common with people from other parts of the world. They read ahout
other people who experience love, question the government, get drunk,
fight for justice, and face the same kind of courtship anxieties they do.
They can see advantages in the ways that some other countries handle
their daily lives. For instance, in a past semester, in Songs to an African
Sunset: A Zimbabwean Story by Sekai Nzenza-Shand, we read about the
use of "èopo/o." Bopoto is the practice of women using puhlic space to
verhally air their grievances, or "making a lot of angry noises." My students began to imagine what would happen at our school if one of them
decided to try it, and they laughed and smiled. But they also understood
that bopoto is an aspect of the justice system in a personal, non-writinghased, loosely structured culture. They could see its efficiency compared
to the legal system in the United States.
Students always have questions about what they read. They ask why
the families they read ahout have so many children. And they also understand why the families they read about have so many children, because
they have a Peace Corps volunteer asking the same question of a man in
the former Zaire. They understand that large families equal old age insurance in countries without nursing homes and high infant mortality. They
understand that they are more alone and on their own in America than
many of the other people they read ahout who come from tightly knit, if
poor, communities. By asking questions ahout the lives of people who
produce the goods they huy, students come to see that owning a diamond,
eating a chocolate har, drinking coffee, driving an SUV, or wearing certain
clothes, the stuff of their own everyday life, intimately links them to the
Using Personal Narratives to Teach a Global Perspective
181
politics and economics of the world. The Ponds of Kalambayi by Mike
Tidwell describes the dangerous and hardscrabble existence of African men
who mine for diamonds. We discuss how many of these men have few
economic choices which force them into diamond mining and compare
that to the ease of Westerners buying expensive luxury goods.
Having found a successful approach to teaching world history, I now
regularly scour bookstores, catalogs, publishers' websites, and ask colleagues who teach in non-Westem fields for good personal narratives.
Some books 1 have used include Son of the Revolution, a Chinese expatriate's memories of the Cultural Revolution and its effects on family life
and individuals; A Month anda Day, a Nigerian man's diary about fighting
foreign exploitation and indigenous corruption; The Ponds of Kalambayi,
a Peace Corps volunteer's tribute to his time in the former Zaire and the
effects of colonialism and poverty; Children of Cain, which explores the
causes and personal effects of political violence in Latin America; and
Guests of the Sheik, which details an American woman's assimilation
into Iraqi village life in the 1950s. Lonely Planet Publications, the travel
guide publisher, and the website Words Without Borders have some excellent titles.'«
I have four criteria for choosing personal narratives, two are primarily
for the student's satisfaction and two are for mine. First, the narratives must
be primarily about everyday life and non-elites rather than "great" people.
For instance, students were less attracted to the Ken Saro-Wiwa prison
memoir A Month and a Day than they were to The Ponds of Kalambayi, a
Peace Corps volunteer account, because they could more closely identify
with the author and could envision themselves in a position of service to
a community rather than risking their lives fighting for national autonomy
against a multi-national company. Second, the personal narratives must be
highly readable. This includes a manageable book length (about 200-250
pages works best) and predominately conversational writing style. While
Jamaica Kincaid's book A Small Place is quite short (81 pages), it is the
one book that absolutely everyone in my class read. We discussed the
places they had visited as tourists, which led to discussions about being
an outsider, the effects of colonialism, and the power of language. Third,
the readings must shed light on some of the global issues that I am trying
to teach students. I use books that illustrate economic interdependence,
effects of imperialism or post-colonialism, and cross-cultural interactions.
The book Beyond the Sky and the Earth is a very clear story about a Canadian woman's difficult and emotional journey into the culture and life of
Bhutan. The author comes to question her consumer-oriented, clock-based
life as she encounters a subsistence and seasonal economy. Fourth, the
readings must have concrete information about the history, political and
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Jennifer Trost
economic system, religious beliefs, and culture of the country. I do not
use travel narratives that are only impressionistic or are mostly about the
author working through some personal emotional issues. Rather, I use
narratives which emphasize the intellectual challenges of cross cultural
journeys or ties of economic interdependence that would be of interest to
students. For instance, Joe Kane in Savages explores the impact of oil
pipelines on the life of the Huaorani in Ecuador which allows my students
to discuss how their daily choices to drive cars tie them to oil-producing
countries and people.
Along with my goal of using personal stories to play to the curiosity of students, I also want to introduce students to the broad range of
other primary sources. Novels also serve the same purpose of offering
students a global perspective in a narrative format. I have used The Ugly
American, The Mystic Masseur, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold,
and Things Fall Apart. The semester I used The Ugly American, a story
about American involvement in the Vietnam War, it just so happened that
a newspaper article quoting then-Representative Tom DeLay appeared in
which he explained how he tried to intimidate the Chinese ambassador
by standing tall and close and tightly squeezing the ambassador's hand
because, as DeLay said, "that's the way I see these people."" My students
recognized the parallels between the characters in the novel and the real
life ugly American when they read about him. Recently, I have used the
Spy Who Came in From the Cold and students could see the parallels between the tension of the Cold War and the current fears of terrorism. The
main character of the novel, the spy Alec Leamus, does not know whom
to trust, constantly lives with physical risk, and is alienated from normal
ties to family and community. The Mystic Masseur and Things Fall Apart
are post-colonial novels that explore the effects of imperialism on national
identity, cultural practices, and economic development.
In addition to reading personal narratives and novels, one other technique for engaging students in interactive learning about the world includes
using Apple iBooks in class to read world newspapers. I have tried to solve
some of the problems of apathy and disconnection of students toward the
world by bringing them immediacy of issues. Now that many campuses
are wireless, networked campus, iBooks are easy to use in class because
there is no complexity, no wires. Students just come in and set them up.
Reading world news in class introduces students to a new resource (international coverage of events) in a way with which they are thoroughly
comfortable, on the Internet. I believe classes are best when they make
use of primary documents. It is even better when students have their own
primary documents. Students have their own laptop, can read at their own
pace, and each has an individual connection to the world. Reading the
Using Personal Narratives to Teach a Global Perspective
183
news in class allows me to guide them in discussions about how they can
apply what they have leamed in class to what is going on in the world.
One semester, just after we finished reading Songs to an Afriean Sunset:
A Zimbabwean Story, Zimbabwe had its national elections. We followed
the unfolding drama and discussed why the country had a three-day voting period (very rural and isolated) and what some of the issues were
(post-colonialism and race relations). Another example of students applying what they read in class to current events was the release of more of
President Richard Nixon's tapes. One student brought in a clipping about
the discussions between Nixon and Henry Kissinger regarding the use of
nuclear bombs during American involvement in the Vietnam War. We had
just finished reading Truong Nhu Tang's A Viet Cong Memoir: An Inside
Aeeount of the Vietnam War and its Aftermath in which the Vietnamese
author expressed concern about whether the Americans would use nuclear
weapons. In the course evaluations, students mentioned they were quite
impressed with the relevance of their readings.
I tie together the use of narratives, novels, and news in class with writing assignments that foster critical thinking skills about the world. My
paper topics ask students to imagine a conversation between two of the
authors of the personal narratives as they each explain their culture to
the other. 1 ask students to compare the way different narratives portray
such concepts as individualism, family structure, religion, or the nature
of violence. They move from the specific to the general, from the local to
the global, by using personal narratives to learn about the world.
Classroom resources that personally connect students to world issues
help students make sense of cultural diversity. Rather than using books
which try for the impossible, for coverage, students are well served by
smaller, more intense readings. Since one of the goals of a liberal arts
education is to prepare students for the world they will face, students need
to know how to discuss other cultures. They need to be able to identify
with other values and world-views since they live in a world of competing
ideologies, of which theirs is only one. A single textbook will not give
my students an understanding of diverse voices, but intemational personal
narratives will.
Notes
2.
For a South Up map, go to <www.odt.org
Michael Geyer and Charles Bright, "World History in a Global Age,'' American
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Jennifer Trost
Historical Review 100 (October 1995): 1034-1060; Joan Arno, "The NEH Collaborative
Seminar and the Dilemmas of Teaching World History," The History Teacher 29 (November
1995): 93-100; William H. McNeill, "Colleges Must Revitalize the Teaching and Study
of World History," The Chronicle of Higher Education 36 (8 August 1990): A36.
3.
Steve Gosch, "Cross-Cultural Trade as a Framework for Teaching World History:
Concepts and Applications," The History Teacher 27 (August 1994): 425-431.
4.
Samuel A. Oppenheim, "World History in Theory and Practice: An Essay," The
History Teacher 29 (May 1996): 315-321.
5.
Peter N. Steams, "Student Identities and World History Teaching," The History
Teacher 33 (February 2000): 185-192.
6.
Paul Otto, "History as a Humanity: Reading and Literacy in the History Classroom," The History Teacher 26 (November 1992): 51-60.
7.
In this regard, my approach draws on the strengths of social history which
emphasizes the experiences of non-elites, everyday life, and themes of family, sexuality,
work, and resistance.
8.
Jerry H. Bentley, Old World Encounters: Cross Cultural Contacts and Exchanges in Pre-Modern Times (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993); Stephen S.
Gosch, "Cross-Cultural Trade as a Framework for Teaching World History: Concepts and
Applications," The History Teacher 21 (August 1994): 425-431.
9.
Cognitive psychologists know that learning happens best when instructors help
students make connections to what they already know, connections to their own lives, and
relate new material to their own experiences. C. S. Symons and B. T. Johnson, "The SelfReference Effect in Memory: A Meta-Analysis," Psychology Bulletin 121, no. 3 ( 1997):
371-394.
10.
For fiction and non-fiction in translation, go to "Words Without Borders" at
<www.wordswithoutborders.org>.
11. "A Lesson in Diplomacy," Washington Post National Weekly Edition, 24 April
2000, 22.
Appendix 1: Class Readings
Personal Narratives
Ash, Timothy Garton. The File: A Personal History. New York: Vintage Books, 1998.
British academic returns to Germany after the Cold War to view his Stasi file and
meet those who spied on him. Explores political repression and effects on personal
relationships during Cold War.
Femea, Elizabeth Wamock. Guests of the Sheik: An Ethnography of an Iraqi Village.
New York: Anchor Books, 1989 (originally 1965). American anthropologist enters
Iraqi society by befriending local women. Learns about a culture that is family, community, and religiously ordered.
Heng, Liang and Judith Shapiro. Son of the Revolution. New York: Vintage Books, 1984.
Chinese expatriate writes about the effects of ideology on family life and individual
identity. Describes experiences of the Cultural Revolution and power of ideology.
Kane, Joe. Savages. New York: Penguin, 1996. American writer travels in the Ecuadorian
Using Personal Narratives to Teach a Global Perspective
185
Amazon jungle with native tribes to document effects of multi-national oil company
policies. Shows the effects of wage labor and Christian missionaries on family ties
and subsistence economies.
Kincaid, Jamaica. A Small Place. New York: Vintage, 1997 (originally 1988). Antiguan
writer explores efFects of British imperialism and foreign tourism on her country. Very
powerful voice for developing nations.
Nzeski-Shand, Sekai. Songs to an African Sunset: A Zimbabwean Story. Oakland, CA:
Lonely Planet Publications, 1997. Expatriate Zimbabwean woman returns home to
bury her brother who died of AIDS. Reflects on transition between old traditions and
modernity and cultural conflict between African and Western culture.
Reid, T. R. Confucius Lives Next Door: What Living in the East Teaches Us About Living in the West. New York: Vintage Books, 2000. American journalist shows how
Japanese society values communalism and harmony rather than individual expression.
Explores ways that Japanese have adopted American popular culture.
Rosenberg, Tina. Children of Cain: Violence and The Violent in Latin America. New
York: Penguin, 1991. American journalist interviews torturers and the tortured to
understand political violence and how violence becomes normal. Examines effects of
political culture on rule of law versus rule by power.
Saro-Wiwa, Ken. A Month and A Day: A Detention Diary. New York: Penguin, 1995.
Nigerian activist applies Western principles of independence and freedom to struggle
for economic autonomy and political reform. Argues for social justice while imprisoned
for criticizing the military government.
Tidwell, Mike. The Ponds of Kalambayi: An African Sojourn. New York: Lyons and
Burford, 1990. American Peace Corps volunteer spends two years in former Zaire and
questions his notions of privacy, wealth, and individualism.
Truong, Nhu Tang. A Vietcong Memoir: An Insider Account of the Vietnam War and its
Aftermath. New York: Vintage Books, 1986. Exiled Vietcong Minister of Justice explains Vietnam War as a nationalist independent movement. Shows personal sacrifices
of those fighting for social justice and an ideology.
Zeppa, Jaime. Beyond the Sky and the Earth: A Journey into Bhutan. New York: Riverhead Books, 1999. Canadian student moves to Bhutan to teach for two years, but
ends up marrying a Bhutanese and rejecting Western materialism and converting to
Buddhism.
Novels
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Anchor Books, 1994 (originally 1959).
Nigerian author shows what happens to tribal society when outsiders overwhelm it.
Post-colonial critique of imperialism.
Le Carre, John. The Spy Who Came in From the Cold. New York: Ballantine Books,
1992 (originally 1963). British author illustrates the ends that governments use to
achieve national security goals and the personal costs to those involved. Creates a
mood of confusion and fear.
Lederer, William J. and Eugene Burdick. The Ugly American. New York: W.W.Norton,
1999 (originally 1958). American authors satirize American policies in Vietnam. Places
Vietnam War in global context and makes fun of Western arrogance.
Naipaul, V. S. The Mystic Masseur New York: Vintage Books, 2002 (originally 1957).
Trinidadian author follows failed schoolteacher as he searches for greatness. Parable
about Trinidadian search for identity after the end of British imperialism.
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Jennifer Trost
Appendix II: Class Syllabus
The Global Perspective: The World Since World War II
Instructor; Dr. Jennifer Trost
This course will survey various global issues arising since the end of World War II. The
course combines the disciplines of history, political science, and economics. Emphasis
will be placed on the interaction of the superpowers during the Cold War, the post-colonial
emergence of the "Third World," the ascendancy of regional and international economic
and political institutions, technological innovation as a global blessing and burden, and
the reshaping of contemporary Europe. We will focus on the regions of Asia, the Middle
East, Africa, and the Caribbean. We will use memoirs, music, autobiographies, maps,
documentaries, and films to help understand global changes since 1945 and the effects
they had on everyday life and ordinary people. By reading about developments in other
societies, we come to understand our own even better.
This course will consist of discussion based on the assigned readings and lectures. When
you have finished this course, you should be able to ask historically-minded questions,
think about current issues in terms of historical arguments, write concise, analytical essays,
and speak cogently about what you think.
No pre-requisites, 3 credits.
Course Requirements and Grading
* Graded assignments include two Papers (about 1000 words, 4 pages), short writing assignments, quizzes, and a Final Exam.
15%
30%
15%
10%
15%
15%
Human Development Report Analysis ( 10% written, 5% presentation)
2 Papers
Class Participation
10 Current Events Gists
15 Reading Quizzes
Final Exam
Explanation of United Nations Human Development Report Analysis: For this paper (500
words, 2 pages), you need to make two arguments based on evidence in your section of the
report; You will then present one of those conclusions to the class and briefly (5 minutes)
explain your section of the report.
Explanation of Reading Quizzes: These quizzes consist of simple questions about the
material to give you credit for having done the reading for the day. They will be given
about once a week. They are pass/fail.
Explanation of Papers: These are analytical papers of about 1000 words (4 pages) which
make use of books we read in class. The paper grade includes a first draft and final draft.
See the topics at the end of the syllabus.
Explanation of Current Events Gists: This semester while we are studying the history and
politics of the world, I would like you to be aware of current world events. You will see
Using Personal Narratives to Teach a Global Perspective
187
that events in the past are relevant to today. This semester, the New York Times will be
delivered every weekday to campus. Please bring a copy of the New York Times to class
with you every day. For your current events gists (due on Fridays), you need to explain
in about 5 sentences what you think was the most important global event of the week,
why you think it was important, and how the New York Times described the event. You
need to give the source and date of the infonnation. On Fridays, we will spend class time
discussing world issues covered in the New York Times.
Course Materials
Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart
Truong Nhu Tang, A Viet Cong Memoir: An Inside Account of the Vietnam War and its
Aftermath
Jamaica Kincaid, A Small Place
Gelareh Asayesh, Saffron Sky: A Life Between Iran and America
William J. Duiker, Twentieth -Century World History, 2nd. ed.
Daily Class Schedule
Some Background: Industrialization
Reading: Twentieth-Century World History, c\\. I
Some Background: Imperialism
Reading: Twentieth-Century World History, ch. 2
Some Background: Nationalism
Reading: Twentieth-Century World History, ch. 5
The Coming Cold War and the Emergence of the "Third World"
Reading: Twentieth-Century World History, ch. 7
Communism and the Cold War
Reading and Gist: Twentieth-Century World History, ch. 8
How Do Countries Compare? What does "Human Development" Mean?
United Nations Human Devetopment Report 2004 Analysis Due
Presentations
Africa and Economic Development
Reading and Gist: Twentieth-Century World History, c\i. 14
Tribal Life in Nigeria, Africa
Reading: Things Fall Apart, ch. \-6
Family and Food in Africa
Reading: Things Fall Apart, ch. 7-10
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Jennifer Trost
White Europeans and Black Africans
Reading and Gist: Things Fall Apart, ch. 11-17
Imperialism and its Effect on Africa
Reading: Things Fall Apart, ch. 18-25
Asian Nationalism
Reading: Twentieth-Century
World History, ch. 13
Becoming a Vietnamese Revolutionary
Reading and Gist: A Vietcong Memoir, ch. 1-6
Vietnam: East vs. West
Reading: A Vietcong Memoir, ch 7-11
Fighting a War in Vietnam
Reading:/! Vietcong Memoir, c\\ 12-15
The World During the Cold War and the End of the Vietnam War
Reading and Gist: A Vietcong Memoir, ch 16-19
Aftermath of the War in Vietnam
Reading: A Vietcong Memoir, ch. 20-24
Diamonds in Africa: First World/Third World
Video: The Diamond Empire
Images of the Cold War
Video: The Cold War, pt. 1
Latin American Nationalism
Reading and Gist: Twentieth-Century
World History, ch. 11 (242-249)
Music ofthe Cold War
Understanding Other Cultures
Reading: Horace Miner, "Magical Practices among the Nacirema"
The End of Empire, Post Colonial Asia
Reading and Gist: Twentieth-Century World History, ch. 12
Visiting The Caribbean as a Tourist
Reading: A Small Place, pt 1
Real Life in Antigua
Reading: A Small Place, pt 2
The Caribbean and Imperialism
Reading and Gist: A Small Place, pt 3, 4
Using Personal Narratives to Teach a Global Perspective
189
Developments in the Middle East
Reading: Twentieth-Century World History, ch. 15
Women in Modem Iran
Movie: Leila
Modernity vs. Tradition in Iran
Movie: Leila
Moving Between Cultures
Reading: Saffron Sky, ch. I
Growing Up in Iran
Reading: Saffron Sky, ch. II-III
Migrating and Adjusting to America
Reading and Gist: Saffron Sky, ch. IV-V
Iran After the Revolution
Reading: Saffron Sky, ch. VI
East vs. West
Reading: Saffron Sky, ch. VII-X
The Global Economy
Reading: Twentieth-Century World History, ch. 17
Paper Topic #1
Imagine a conversation between Chinua Achebe and Truong Nhu Tang in which they
explain Nigeria and Vietnam to each other. Write a paper in which Achebe explains
Nigerian culture and history to Tang, and Tang explains Vietnamese culture to Achebe.
In your paper, list two differences and two similarities between Nigeria and Vietnam
as described by Achebe and Tang.
Paper Topic #2
In your first paper, I asked you to make general comparisons about life in two different
countries. Countries and their cultures are very complex. One way to simplify our
discussion of cultures is to pick a single theme with which to compare them. In this
paper, 1 would like you to use the theme of imperialism to compare cultures. Using the
books from class, you need to compare the way Chinua Achebe or Truong Nhu Tang
and Jamaica Kincaid explain the effects of imperialism on each of their countries. Be
sure to note the similarities or differences between the effects on each country.