“The Color Line” exhibition at Quai de Branly in Paris reviews the history of discrimination in the U.S.A. through the eyes of African-American artists. The show is an exploration of 150 years of American history from the end of the Civil War with the abolition of slavery, to segregation, the civil rights movement and the … Continue reading “African-American Artists and Segregation”
For the first time ever, the Nobel Prize for Literature has been awarded not to a novelist, playwright or poet, but the a songwriter: Bob Dylan. The 2016 Nobel was awarded to the 75-year-old folk-rock legend, “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition”. The singer-songwriter was born in 1941 in … Continue reading “The Times They Are A-Changin’”
The film Suffragette is an excellent occasion to talk about the movement for votes for women in the UK in the 19th and 20th centuries. As well as the trailer, below, the site for the Suffragette film has a clip called “We will win”, which would work well in class. There is also a gallery … Continue reading “Suffragette Webpicks”
National symbols are a wonderful way into discussing a country’s culture — and encouraging pupils to think about their own country’s symbols, which we all tend to take for granted. The current debate in the U.S.A. about honouring a woman on a banknote is and excellent and realistic example. This topic is great for classwork … Continue reading “Women on Banknotes Webpicks”
The Suffragette campaign was one of the major civil-rights movements of 20th century Britain. It’s amazing that 100 years after women finally got the vote, there had never been a film made about it! Suffragette, starring Carey Mulligan (The Great Gatsby, An Education), Helena Bonham Carter and Meryl Streep, finally puts the Suffragettes centre stage. … Continue reading “Suffragettes on Screen”
Muhammad Ali hadn’t boxed in over thirty years, but news of his death made the headlines around the world. Ali was much more than a sporting champion, a strong personality who made his mark on the civil rights movement. Former heavyweight World Boxing Champion Muhammad Ali died on 4 June, 2016. He had suffered from … Continue reading “Muhammad Ali Floated Like a Butterfly”
Muhammad Ali, world boxing champion and civil-rights activist, died in June 2016. This is a nice summary of Ali’s life and career from the BBC children’s news site. The video covers much the same information as the article, and could be tackled from A2, or used just for images along with selected facts for lower … Continue reading “Muhammad Ali On the Web”