Learning and Teaching about The Cold War through Film, Television and Primary Sources.

Rationale:
The contents of this course reflect the Massachusetts History and Social Science Framework in the following ways:

• Students in Massachusetts will be required to pass the history MCAS by 2009
• Commonly taught subtopic 7. The World from 1945 to the Present  (d,e,f,)
• Course covers the six history strands, including: Chronology and Cause; Research, evidence and Point of View; and interdisciplinary learning in the humanities and science and math
• Course touches upon learning standards for theories of economics (Capitalism/Marxism)
• Civics and Government (Authority, Responsibility and Power and citizenship.)

Goals:

• To cultivate the art of independent thinking.
• To examine points of view, ideologies, and assumptions.
• To integrate different disciplines of the social sciences into unified social studies instruction.
• To understand “The Political Psychology of Competing Narratives.”
• To learn how to ask questions.

Objectives:

• To explore the medium of film and television as a tool for non-traditional teaching methods
• To examine how the Cold War is portrayed in American history textbooks: Point of View, media literacy, and propaganda.

Curriculum:

• “The Political Psychology of Competing Narratives.”-American and Soviet view of the world. Inevitability of the Cold War?
• Examination of primary source documents: The Truman Doctrine, National Security Document # 68. Et.el.
• Media literacy: McCarthy and the Press. HUAC.
• Literature: The Individual and Society-The Lonely Crowd, David Riesman, C. White Collar, Wright Mills, Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller.

Instructional Approaches:

• Lecture
• Film, television
• Computer-Power Point; You Tubing, Webbing.
• Creation of an Electronic Porfolio
• Examination of Primary source materials