In this anthology, Chicana voices of the past and present illuminate the experiences of Mexican American women as they strive to integrate wage work, family life, and community engagement. Sections cover confrontations with the state through community action, court litigation, and union organizing; negotiating work, marriage, and children; stories…

Reviews a series of teaching activities that revolve around family photographs, letters, and artifacts. Outlines how these items can be used to teach recommended National Council for the Social Studies strands and provides classroom examples. Discusses developing a unit of study and includes a form for a Family Artifact Report. (MJP)

Maintains that, counter to popular opinion, guns played no significant role in U.S. frontier life until the Civil War era. Evidence from probate and militia records reveal a consistent lack of gun ownership while magazine articles painted unflattering portraits of gun ownership and hunting. Discusses reasons for the change. (MJP)

Recounts the battle over the first attempt in U.S. history to implement sex education in a citywide system of public schools. Frames this conflict as part of an ongoing collision between progressive, social science-oriented reformers and a traditionalist populace. Discusses the reform movement's shift from moral to scientific authority. (MJP)

Suggests the variety of Christmas songs (sacred, secular, traditional, and nontraditional) recorded since 1940 offers enormous potential for use in social studies classrooms. Argues these songs provide insights into cultural history and social change. Suggests several classroom activities discussing and classifying Christmas songs. Includes a…

Describes oral history interviews conducted with artists and writers involved in New Deal arts projects. Describes the collections, analyzing biases and selection factors. Examines participants' attitudes toward government sponsorship of the arts, finding general approval of government patronage. Suggests that these oral histories help document…

Examines how oral history may help close the gap between professional and public history, thus broadening the framework of historical discourse. Considers public history projects--films, videos, museum, and historic site exhibits--and the work on conceptions of history by David Carr and Henry Glassie. Favors interpretive approaches that reflect…

Assesses Chicano-Anglo relations in Ontario, California, from 1937-1947, a transitional decade for Chicanos in "semi-rural" areas of American Southwest. Focuses on Chicanos' economic plight, their leadership and organization, civil rights and discrimination, legal issues, and political realities. Studies effect of World War II on Chicano…

Presents 18 secondary level student activities that focus on women in twentieth-century Canadian history. Designed to challenge students to question their assumptions and sharpen critical thinking skills, these strategies use role playing, simulation, and research skills to explore the enfranchisement, socialization and historical role of women.…

Presents a lesson based on the village life of the Plains Indians during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Includes student objectives, step-by-step instructional procedures, and suggested student assignments. Provides two maps, two student readings, and five illustrations of American Indian village life. (CFR)

Describes the development and evolution of college-level history courses on U.S. western history. Discusses historical resources used in the courses and topics for student discussion. Concludes that the 20th-century west can be used as the foundation for a thematic approach to history instruction. (CFR)

Criticizes Charles Murray's "The Bell Curve" and attempts a more cogent analysis of the respective roles of blacks and the U.S. political economy. Utilizes a sociology of knowledge framework to discuss the evolving nature of blacks in the nation's workforce. Briefly discusses eugenics and the history of racist social theories. (MJP)

Maintains that most attempts to depict American Indians contain at least two fatal flaws: (1) they portray the 19th century as the best period for Native American culture; and (2) they show Indians only in conjunction with non-Indian aggressions. Provides an overview of efforts by Indians to develop multitribal cultural activities. (CFR)

Presents an interview with John Haefner, president of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) in 1953. Haefner reflects on social studies education and the constant challenges facing NCSS. Concludes that laboratory schools were important sources of educational change and improvement. (CFR)

Maintains that the impact of the Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union on U.S. politics and society during the post-World War II era can hardly be overstated. Reviews 18 college history survey textbooks on their interpretation of the origins of the Cold War. (CFR)