In the 1950's there was a communist hiding under every bed.

Today we are led to believe we are under constant threat from Islamic terrorists determined to destroy democracy and our way of life.

How can language arts teachers and their students understand more deeply both the serious reality and the troubling paranoia surrounding "terrorism"?

• Think more deeply about the term "terrorism"
• Examine stereotypes of Islam, Arabs, and terrorists in popular culture
• Engage with powerful contemporary literature and film that go beyond public obsession and confusion to make understandable the lives and thinking of our so-called "enemies”

Contexts for teaching about the Middle East

Find speakers who might come to your class, and mosques, Islamic centers, and Islamic schools that your students might visit -- insert your zip code at www.IslamicFinder.org

Useful background information: "The Middle East," "Ottoman Empire," "Ottoman Dominated Countries," "British Mandate of Mesopotamia," Middle East Map, British Empire

Media Education Foundation Blood and Oil on the relationship of American foreign policy and Middle East Oil (1 hour, 6 episodes), First episode:

Also:

Blood and Oil: Middle East in WWI -- series available in 22 parts on YouTube that provides important history of the Modern Middle East