Among the biggest challenges secondary teachers face is staying informed of current global affairs and accessing scholarship that helps them contextualize these events for students within their appropriate social and historical frameworks. The CCAS Education Outreach program creates teaching materials and hosts interdisciplinary workshops and professional development to address this need and equip teachers with tools to lead thoughtful classroom discussions on contemporary issues related to the region. Our program attendees teach a variety of courses at the secondary level, including geography and world history surveys, modern world history, U.S. history, and courses that address region-specific and global problems and perspectives. We are able to do this work through the support of the Department of Education Title VI grant, designating GU a National Resource Center on the Middle East and North Africa.

CCAS and Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service is also part of a multi-year collaboration with the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) Office of Global Studies to support a project called the Global Curriculum Fellowship. This fellowship brings a select group of DCPS social studies teachers together with Georgetown faculty and students from the School of Foreign Service to develop course syllabi for high-school electives. Courses include “The Middle East,” “Global Perspectives,” “World Problems and Contemporary Issues,” among others.

CCAS holds Saturday seminars, teach-ins, and summer teacher institutes on contemporary topics, and has also delivered customized professional development sessions for local school districts and underserved regions. These include:

Contemporary Issues Related to the Middle East

  • Islam and Politics: A Workshop and Curriculum Introduction for Educators
    March 23, 2019 at CCAS
    This workshop addressed some of the most pressing questions in teaching the topic of political and social engagement of Islam in post-colonial societies. Following this workshop, CCAS produced a curriculum unit to help educators meet state teaching standards on these topics.
  • Iran and the World: What You Need to Know
    November 9, 2019 at the George Washington University
    This workshop contextualized contemporary Iranian history and culture within a framework of regional and global dynamics, covering topics such as the role of the Islamic Revolution in shaping contemporary politics and culture; Iran’s relationship with neighbors in the Middle East and Central Asia; and U.S. policy toward Iran.
  • Teach-In On Global Migrations and Refugees: U.S. and Middle East
    February 24, 2018 at George Mason University
    This workshop explored migration in the Middle East and North Africa from historical, regional, and contemporary perspectives, and also looked at migration from the region to the United States since the 19th century.
    Watch a video of the event here.
  • Summer Institute 2018: China, the Middle East and Africa
    August 6-10, 2018 at CCAS
    This week-long institute focused on Chinese relations with the Middle East and Africa, including both historical interactions and contemporary developments, as well as resources for incorporating these topics into classroom discussions.
    Watch a video from the event here.
  • Teach-In on Current Events in the Arab World: Return to Business as Usual after the Uprisings?
    November 10, 2018 at George Mason University
    This teach-in brought together scholars and journalists to discuss events in Palestine, Yemen, Iraq, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia over the past decade and the demographic, economic, and social issues faced by citizens of these countries since the Arab Uprisings.
  • Summer Teacher Institute 2017: Food, Agriculture, Water, and Environment in the Middle East and North Africa
    August 7-11, 2017 at CCAS
    This week-long workshop focused on food growing, consumption and global trade; water and sustainable agriculture in the Middle East and North Africa; and the global influence of the diverse cuisines of the region gave participants a host of cross-curricular ideas for their classrooms.
  • Teach-In on Yemen
    March 18, 2017 at CCAS
    This event featured experts and journalists who spoke about the background of the civil strife in Yemen, external intervention in the conflict, the role of the Arab Spring, and the current humanitarian crisis.
    Listen to audio from this event here.
  • Medical Anthropology: Cross Cultural Perspectives in Healthcare and Social Work
    February 21, 2015 at CCAS
    This workshop for healthcare providers and social workers discussed medical anthropology, public health and medicine in the Middle East.
  • Symposium: An Energy Revolution? Political Ecologies of Shale Oil in the Middle East, US, and China
    February 11-13, 2015 at CCAS
    This day-long day conference explored the different economic, social, political, and ecological challenges related to energy production and the Middle East.
    Open folder for curriculum material, and watch videos of the event here.
  • Teach-In on Iraq and Syria
    November 1, 2014 at CCAS
    This teach-in discussed historical and current events in Syria and Iraq, offering clarification on the economic and political causes of the conflicts in these countries, and debunking the notion that they can be reduced to sectarian strife.
  • Youth, Gender, and Social Change in the Middle East
    March 28, 2013 at CCAS
    Anthropologists discussed their research and discussions with people from all walks of life in the Middle East to provide deeper insights into regional events and trends.

Literature and Art in the MENA

Trans-regional and Global Topics

Please visit the past events page to see a complete list of all CCAS workshops and trainings for educators.