Download Rethinking Columbus

Rethinking Exploration:
Columbus
Ms. Teague, Fall 2010
We study this because…
• Columbus is dead but his legacy is not.
• The “Columbus-as-Discoverer” myth
teaches whose voices to listen to in the
world and whose to ignore.
• It encourages a critical reading and
understanding of all historical events.
• We have a responsibility to learn from
history so we won’t repeat it.
Essential Questions
• How is history told by the
victors?
• Why does history forget
the voices of the
subjugated?
• How does culture &
perspective influence the
way you interpret
history?
• How do these factors
affect our understanding
of history?
In this unit we will...
• Explore the legacy of
Columbus' “discovery”
of the “New World”
• Examine some of the
untold narratives of
early North American
colonialism
• Reflect on how the
voices that are heard—
and those that are
ignored
Questions for Exploration
• Whose story is
being told?
• Who is telling the
story?
• Who has the most
to gain from the
situation?
In this unit, you will…
• Explain how the exploration of
the New World is significant
today.
• Explain primary, secondary, and
tertiary sources and benefits of
each.
• Evaluate the perspective of a text
and determine its accuracy.
• Define key unit vocabulary
words.
• Understand how people interact
with and impact the environment.
• Understand two or more points of
view to comprehend a historical
event.
• Pick a point of view on a
topic and develop ideas
using specific and relevant
details.
• Form an opinion and use
evidence to support an
interpretation of historical
events.
• Use powerful paragraph
structure to write
persuasively.
• Use 3+ sources to
strengthen writing
• Correctly cite sources in an
essay
Vocabulary
• Colonialism
• Imperialism
• Ethnocentric
• Conquest
• Conquistador
• Empire
• Entitled
• Exploitation
• Genocide
• Subjugate
• First Nation
• Mercantilism
Unit Scope
Indian Claim Italy by “Right of Discovery
New York Times
1492
Nancy Schimmel
Sugar and Slavery
Philip Martin
African-American Resistance
Bill Fletcher
Columbus’ Diary
Columbus
Open Your Hearts
Bartolome de las Casas
Timeline: Spain, Columbus, Tainos
The People vs. Columbus, et al.
Our Class!
Human Beings are not Mascots
Barbara Munson
Beginnings
“Discovery” represents the point
of view of the supposed
discoverers.
It’s the invaders masking their
theft
And when the word gets
repeated in textbooks, those
textbooks become the
propaganda of the winners.