This page is part of the New Jersey state guidelines for public education. Additional pages are in progress to address all core Social Studies areas pertaining to Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. We are excited to bring Middle Ages for Educators to teachers of Middle School and High School subjects in New Jersey, and eventually in many more states!
Below you will find videos and instructional materials to help create lessons and assignments on the topic of religion and its place among the other instruments of governance and cultural change.
N.B.: This page is very much in progress as of April 2021.
Introducing Religion as a Topic for Social Studies
Here are some preliminary ideas and questions that will help connect students with videos and other materials on this topic.
Question #1
- Point #1
Question #2
- Point #1
The Languages and Cultures of Religion
- Middle Ages for Educators offers many useful resources to illustrate the linguistic and literary diversity of religion in late antiquity and the middle ages.
- Greek [supply link]
- Latin [supply link]
- Hebrew [supply link]
- Syriac [supply link]
- Chinese [supply link]
- Coptic [supply link]
- Ethiopic [supply link]
- Persian languages [supply link]
Special considerations in the study of religion
- As with all topics that are intertwined with student upbringing and cultural or individual identity, sensitivity and preparation are recommended for teachers handling the topic of religion.
1. Video: Medieval Blood Libel and Anti-Asian Racism
In this video (viewing time 21:46), Magda Teter discusses a famous case of anti-Semitic propaganda in the wake of a controversial death in medieval Italy.
- As part of the Medieval Meets Modern series, this video prompts a number of discussions that help illuminate contemporary discourse on race.
- As with the accompanying lesson on "the plague in Europe," this video gives teachers an opportunity to highlight the importance of archival research as a corrective to faulty historical narratives.
- See this video lesson's main page for further sources and helpful information.