This inquiry leads students through an investigation of Isabel Wilkerson’s 2020 book, Caste: The Origins of our Discontents. The central thesis of her work is that American racism is built on a caste system. She builds her argument by highlighting Nazis Germany and the Indian caste system as she defines the central pillars of caste. Ultimately, she argues America exhibits each of the pillars by noting historical and modern examples of each. This argument caused a stir when the book was released and elicited conversation and disagreement. This inquiry asks students to engage with the conversations around this book by arguing why it “hit a nerve” as they learn to engage and evaluate secondary sources.
9-12
The Heart of Social Studies
Inquiries
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This inquiry leads students through an investigation of Isabel Wilkerson’s 2020 book, Caste: The Origins of our Discontents. The central thesis of her work is that American racism is built on a caste system. She builds her argument by highlighting Nazis Germany and the Indian caste system as she defines the central pillars of caste….
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This inquiry leads students through an investigation of the lead up to the execution of Queen Anne Boleyn of England, the first British Queen to be executed. It requires students to examine primary sources from the time, as well as secondary scholarship to investigate evidence of Anne’s guilt or innocence, and make an informed decision…
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This inquiry leads students through an investigation of the three waves of feminism. The first wave (1848 to 1920) focused on inequalities like gaining women’s suffrage (the right to vote) and economic, civil, and political rights. In the second wave (1963 to the 1980s), women addressed a wide range of issues, including unofficial inequalities, official…
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This inquiry leads students through an investigation of Guatemala’s recent history, with emphasis on the coup of 1954, and the resulting effects that ripple into the present. At the center of this project is the question: How can we pursue justice? This compelling question is explored in the context of Guatemala’s history and the advocates…
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This inquiry leads students through an investigation of questions around Indigenous People’s land rights. Focusing on the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), students explore how disputes over treaties and historical land bases complicate the already contentious issue of resource extraction. Students are progressively introduced to land rights issues centering on the experiences of…
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In this inquiry, students investigate police and policing reform in historical and modern contexts. Framed by the compelling questionㄧHow should we reform policing?ㄧstudents explore the form and function of policing in order to evaluate reforms and create their own reform policy proposal. First, students examine the purpose of policing, considering the role police play in…
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This inquiry leads students through an investigation of what parks do for us and where they may fall short. The compelling question asks something we may not have thought much about. “Should parks make us better people?” For Fredrick Law Olmsted, the father of the American public park, the answer was very clear. Parks restore…
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This inquiry focuses on the uneven impacts of the New Deal policies with a focus on the experiences of everyday Americans living in the South. It is intended to expand students’ existing understanding of the New Deal by engaging in analysis around issues of equity and perspective. The questions, tasks, and sources in this inquiry…
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This inquiry focuses on the rights of citizenship that African Americans were denied following Reconstruction. Though the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were passed in order to guarantee citizenship rights to freedmen, many states passed laws that limited these rights. In this inquiry, students will examine ways rights of citizenship were denied by many states…
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This inquiry asks students to explore issues of individual responsibility and moral choice by investigating the compelling question, “I was only following orders! Is this an acceptable defense?” Students will consider Dr. Solis’s question about actions taken during the Holocaust and more as they study the history of the “superior orders” defense from its first…