Beyond The Conflict:Teaching and Learning about Israel and the Middle East
Making History our Friend not our Enemy:
Teaching, Israel, Zionism and the Middle East Fairly –
while teaching historical thinking too…
Seminar Featuring Dr. Gil Troy
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
4:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Dr. Gil Troy is a captivating, inspiring speaker. Dr. Troy graduated from Harvard University and has taught at McGill University in Montreal since 1990. He has been long designated by Maclean’s Magazine as one of McGill’s “Popular Profs.” A leading presidential historian, he writes a regular column for the Daily Beast, putting current events in historical perspective, and a regular column for The Jerusalem Post, has contributed to The New York Times’ “Campaign Stops,” and has been widely quoted in American and Canadian media outlets.
Professor Troy is the author of 11 books. His latest book is The Age of Clinton: America in the 1990s. Other books include the award-winning Moynihan’s Moment: America’s fight against Zionism is Racism, Morning in America:
How Ronald Reagan Invented the 1980s, Hillary Rodham Clinton: Polarizing First Lady, The History of American Presidential Elections, and Why I Am a Zionist: Israel,
Jewish Identity and the Challenges of Today.
Recently Troy was featured providing historical background on the acclaimed National Geographic television special on the 1980s, “The Decade that Made Us,” narrated by
Rob Lowe.
Professor Troy will provide a special seminar on “Making History our Friend not our Enemy: Teaching, Israel, Zionism and the Middle East Fairly – while teaching historical thinking too…” with information on how to not only use basic timelines, maps, and documents to teach some of the fundamentals of the history of Israel and the Middle East, but teach how to think about history, appreciating that the
historian’s favorite “text” is context.
An interactive discussion will follow the lecture, providing educators with an opportunity to translate their learning into practice. The program will include opportunities to develop skills in identifying and assessing supplementary teaching materials that engage students and are historically and instructionally sound with special reference to the New York State Standards. Participants will receive a packet of recommended curricular resources designed to increase students’ critical thinking skills and their understanding
of the multiple perspectives that exist in the Middle East.
Note: There is no fee, but registration is required. Please register by Tuesday, October 13, 2015.
A Certificate of Participation will be provided. For more information and to register, please contact Shelly Shapiro
at 783-7800 or sshapiro@jewishfedny.org or Mary Miller, Capital District Council for the Social Studies, at
theliaisoneditor@gmail.com.