Human Rights Education: The 4th R, Human Rights Education
Resource Guide, Vol. 6, No.1 summer 1994.

Ethnic, Linguistic, and Religious Minorities

Adams, Clayton, et al. (1985: 1 and 2; 1986: 3). Teaching about the Holocaust and Genocide: Introduction (1); Teaching about the Holocaust (2); and Case Studies: Persecution/Genocide (3). New York: State Education Department. State Education Department, Education Building, Albany, NY 12234.

These three volumes serve as useful formal and informal education guides for teachers in secondary education. Although the emphasis lies on the Nazi Holocaust and other genocides, the series is intended to be a general introduction to human rights. The first volume examines the socio-psychological causes as well as the historical precursors of the Nazi genocide, the second focuses on the anti-Semitism in the Third Reich and the Holocaust. The third volume concentrates on two case studies: human rights violations and the forced famine in the Ukraine in 1933 and the killing in Cambodia 1975-79. Each volume includes a variety of materials such as original documents, photos, maps, and handouts.


Gerlach, Lynne, and Nikki van der Gaag (1985). Profile on Prejudice. London: Minority Rights Group. 5 pounds. ISBN 946690-28-6. MRG, 29 Craven Street, London WC2N 5NT, United Kingdom.

This teachers handbook contains activities which examine the links among language, image, power, and prejudice, and encourages students to evaluate information through practical and intellectual involvement. The eight-page student-use profiles provide a range of primary source material about each topic of travellers in several places worldwide.


Hicks, David W. (1981). Minorities: A Teachers Resource Book for the Multi-Ethnic Curriculum. Oxford: Heinemann Educational Books. 16.95 pounds. ISBN 0-435-80416-2. Heinemann Educational Books, Halley Court, Jordan ill, Oxford OX2 8EJ, United Kingdom.

This resource book contains various materials and practical suggestions for teaching of majority/minority issues. Part one explores more general questions (e.g., characteristic features of minorities). Part two focuses on three case studies (e.g., Australian Aborigines), discusses possibilities and requirements of a multi-ethnic curri culum, and suggests several experimental learning activities in the classroom. Part three proposes criteria to evaluate teaching materials and describes some current teaching projects. The book includes an index and extensive bibliography. Very useful for both formal and informal education.


Hillier, Stella, and Lynne Gerlach (1987). Whose Paradise? Tea and the Plantation Tamils of Sri Lanka. London: Minority Rights Group. 7 pounds. ISBN 09466-90-50-2. Minority Rights Group, 29 Crave St., London WC2N 5NT, United Kingdom.

The book is especially designed for teachers working with children in the primary/lower secondary age range. It uses three themes: "On the Move," "Everyday Life," and "Tea," to examine the lives and problems of minority Tamils in Sri Lanka, including issues of citizenship, exploitation, identity, and civil war. It contains practical material for teaching, stories, games, festivals, as well as information and resources for follow-up work.


Niedergang, Mark, and Martha McCoy (1994). Cant We All Just Get Along?: A Manual for Discussion Programs on Racism and Race Relations. Pomfret, CT: Study Circles Resource Center, Topsfield Foundation Inc. Study Circles Resource Center, P.O. Box 203, Pomfret, CT 06258, tel 203-928-2616.

This manual offers a means to engage the members of your community or organization in dialogue on racism and tensions among racial and ethnic groups. It provides core materials for five discussion sessions and general information on the study circle process.


Parsons, William, and Margaret Stern Strom (1982). Facing History and Ourselves: Holocaust and Human Behavior. Brookline, MA: Facing History and Ourselves. $19.95. Facing History and Ourselves, 16 Hurd St., Brookline, MA, 02146, tel 617-232-1595, fax 617-232-0281.

Examines the nature of prejudice and its role in the development of policy on discrimination and genocide in Nazi Germany and the Ottoman-Turk Empire against Armenians, among others. This publication shows the relationship of genocide to patterns of historical and contemporary human behavior. It contains many instructional activities and materials and includes a rationale for the study of these topics in the school curriculum.


Parsons, William, and Sam Totten (February 1991). "Teaching About Genocide" theme issue in Social Education, vol. 55, no. 2. National Council for the Social Studies, 3501 Newark St. NW, Washington, DC 20016, tel 202-966-7840.

This special section examines ways of teaching about genocide and provides discussion topics and activities. It includes a rationale, teaching units, and expert articles on teaching about genocide in the twentieth century.


Teaching Tolerance (Spring 1992). Teaching Tolerance: Civil Rights Kit. Montgomery, AL: Southern Poverty Law Center. One per school is available free upon written request of the principal. Teaching Tolerance, Southern Poverty Law Center, 400 Washington Ave., Montgomery, AL 36104.

Americas Civil Rights Movement, a video-and-text kit designed for grades 5 and above, combines dramatic film footage in the 38-minute videotape A Time for Justice, an illustrated text entitled Free at Last: A History of the Civil Rights Movement and Those Who Died in the Struggle, and an easy-to-use teachers guide.


United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (1993). Guidelines for Teaching About the Holocaust. Washington, DC: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Education Department, 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place SW, Washington, DC 20024-2150, tel 202-488-0400, fax 202-488-2690.

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum offers a wide range of educational materials including artifact poster sets, guidelines for teaching the Holocaust, Daniels Story videocassette and lesson plans, Days of Remembrance lesson plans, a videography, bibliography, and focus pamphlets on a variety of topics.


A World of Difference (1994). A World of Difference. New York: The Anti-Defamation League. Anti-Defamation League, 823 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, tel 212-490-2529, fax 212-490-0187.

A World of Difference is an unprecedented community and school-based educational program designed to promote respect for and appreciation of racial, religious, and ethnic differences. The project was originated in 1985 by the New England Regional Office of the Anti-Defamation League of Bnai Brith. The campaign is a combination of specially produced television programming throughout the year, foundation support seminars and specialized materials for teachers, community-based projects and activities, newspaper materials, billboards, posters, and more.


return to the 4th R table of contents