In today's interconnected and global society, socially responsive learning is an integral part of educational excellence. This book encourages socially responsive learning by showing the reader how to use traditional African folk tales and quality children's books, young adult novels, classic literature, and film media about Africa as the mode for examining diversity, equity, and human rights issues in high school and university classrooms. Each Novel Guide chapter in this unique and remarkable resource offers the following features to provoke critical thinking and challenge students to become socially responsive learners: (1) An overview of the novels and activities how those activities are aligned with standards; (2) An exploration of each novel's social and historical context; (3) About the author descriptions and plot summaries; (4) "Making Connections" question sets; (5) A critical exploration of themes; (6) "Teacher Talk" questioning strategies; (7) Cross-curricular activities; and (8) A "Making-A-Difference Project." The literature explored in this book helps students and teachers to expand not only their concept of global issues and awareness of what is at stake when various kinds of injustice are ignored, but also how they may become activists on the global scene, citizens who can make a positive difference in the world. After a Foreword (Allan Stratton) and Preface ("Teaching Human Rights in the Era of Globalization," Jacqueline N. Glasgow and Linda J. Rice), this book is divided into five parts. Part I: Getting Started, contains the following chapters: (1) Rationale for Using Novel Guides to Explore African Life and Culture Through Literature (Jacqueline N. Glasgow and Linda J. Rice); and (2) Building Students' Background Knowledge of African Life and Culture (Jacqueline N. Glasgow and Linda J. Rice). Part II: Novel Guides to Explore the Arab World in Northern Africa, contains the following chapters: (3) Life in Sudan: From Slavery to Freedom (JacquelineN. Glasgow); and (4) The Struggle of Arab Women to Lead Self-Determining Lives (Jacqueline N. Glasgow). Part III: Novel Guides to Explore the Life and Culture of People in Central Regions of Africa, contains: (5) Voices Resisting Colonial Rule in Nigeria (Jacqueline N. Glasgow); (6) Conflicts in Rituals and Politics in Kenya (Linda J. Rice); (7) Rites of Passage for Young Girls in the Central Regions of Africa (Jacqueline N. Glasgow); and (8) Connections and Communication across the Continents: From Ethiopia to the United States (Alexa L. Sandmann). Part IV: Novel Guides to Explore the Life and Culture of People in Sub-Saharan Africa, contains the following chapters: (9) Exploitation Through Child Labor and Animal Poaching in 19th-Century South Africa (Linda J. Rice); (10) Racial Tensions, Injustice, and Harmony in South African Literature (Linda J. Rice); (11) The Struggles for Human Rights in the Young Adult Literature of South Africa (Jacqueline N. Glasgow); (12) Life and Literature in Botswana: Resolving Cultural Conflicts to Create a Better World (Jacqueline N. Glasgow); and (13) Cultural Conflicts and Choices for Education of Young Women in Pre- and Post-Colonial Zimbabwe (Jacqueline N. Glasgow and Kara Haas). Part V: Resources to Explore Africa Through Film, Children's Literature, and the Oral Tradition, contains the final chapters: (14) Using Film Media as Visual Text for Studying the Rwandan Genocide (Ruth McClain); (15) Children's Literature as a Means of Exploring African Life (Allison L. Baer); and (16) Exploring the African Oral Tradition: From Proverbs to Folk Tales (Jacqueline N. Glasgow). (Contains author and subject indexes.)