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Lesson Plans - religion & culture - introduction and learning objectives

Introduction

There are thousands of holy sites scattered across India where, centuries ago, Muslim rulers are said to have destroyed sacred Hindu temples to build mosques. In 1992, Hindu nationalists tore down one of these mosques in Ayodhya, in the province of Gujarat, claiming it had been built on the site of a temple marking the birthplace of a Hindu deity. Since then, the Hindu nationalist movement has pushed to build a new Hindu temple where the mosque once stood.

In February 2002, a Muslim mob firebombed a train carrying Hindu activists, who wanted a temple re-built on the Ayodhya site. The incident sparked India's worst religious violence in a decade. A retaliatory killing spree followed, as Hindus left hundreds dead and thousands homeless. Using Hindu-Muslim conflict in India as a case study, students will investigate violent acts carried out in the name of religious conviction. They will examine these two perspectives:

Religious belief is a legitimate justification for violent disputes over holy sites.
Religious belief is not a legitimate justification for violent disputes over holy sites.

Using the Academic Controversy model, students will develop skills in: Creating and presenting arguments, researching, collaboration and communication, conflict resolution and consensus-building. They will be evaluated on participation, use of student organizers, and a culminating project, which will demonstrate their understanding of the content and mastery of the Academic Controversy process.

Grade Level: 9-12

Time Allotment

Longer Version: This lesson can span from one to two weeks. Ideally, two to three days of introduction to Academic Controversy, student research, and position-development should be allowed; one to two days for engaging in the Academic Controversy itself (presentation of positions, open discussion, reversal of positions); and two days for the synthesis of positions and the preparation of a joint report. If the teacher chooses to extend the lesson by assigning additional case studies to individual students or small groups of students, the lesson could last for a couple of weeks.

Compressed Version: This lesson could also be completed in two to three days. This would include one day for introduction to Academic Controversy, student research, and position-development (with one to two homework assignments to supplement class time); one day for the structured controversy; and one day for the synthesis of the positions and the preparation of a joint report.

Leaning Objectives

Students Will:

Understand the following terms and concepts: Hindu nationalism, communal violence, mosque, temple, complicity, religious genocide, ethnic cleansing, religious minority groups;

Investigate the reasoning of Hindus and Muslims involved in attacks on those of the other faith and consider whether these religious justifications warrant the violence in Gujarat;

Understand the impact of religious violence and the desecration of religious sites;

Explore the effects of extreme religious nationalism, and consider the role of authorities in safeguarding the religious rights of minority groups;

Develop research, presentation, writing and conflict resolution skills that can be applied to numerous other content areas and case studies.

Academic Content Standards

Historical Understanding Standard 1
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/ Benchmark.asp?SubjectID=3&StandardID=1
Understands and knows how to analyze chronological relationships and patterns Benchmark: Understands historical continuity and change related to a particular development or theme.

World History Standard 44
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/ Benchmark.asp?SubjectID=6&StandardID=44
Understands the search for community, stability, and peace in an interdependent world Benchmarks: Understands the role of political ideology, religion, and ethnicity in shaping modern governments; Understands the role of ethnicity, cultural identity, and religious beliefs in shaping economic and political conflicts across the globe.

World History Standard 45
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/ Benchmark.asp?SubjectID=6&StandardID=45
Understands major global trends since World War II. Benchmarks: Understands causes of economic imbalances and social inequalities among the world's peoples and efforts made to close these gaps.

Civics Standard 22
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/ Benchmark.asp?SubjectID=14&StandardID=22
Understands how the world is organized politically into nation-states, how nation-states interact with one another, and issues surrounding U.S. foreign policy. Benchmarks: Understands the purposes and functions of major governmental international organizations and major nongovernmental international organizations; Knows some important bilateral and multilateral agreements to which the United States is signatory.

Language Arts Standard 4
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/ Benchmark.asp?SubjectID=7&StandardID=4
Gathers and uses information for research purposes. Benchmarks: Uses appropriate research methodology; Uses a variety of print and electronic sources to gather information for research topics; Synthesizes information from multiple research studies to draw conclusions that go beyond those found in any of the individual studies; Writes research papers.