Discovering Quacks, Utopias, and Cemeteries: Modern Lessons from Historical Themes explores two enduring issues – our age-old pursuit of better lives and how the media impacts our choices. Each chapter opens with essential questions asking the reader to consider these issues in historical and modern life. The histories of fake cures, imaginary and real utopias, cemeteries, tombstones, and scrapbooks are explored from ancient times through the transformations caused by the Industrial Revolution into the twentieth century.
Quacks, Utopias, and Cemeteries, the third in the daily life series by Cynthia Resor, is an ideal book for history enthusiasts, especially social studies teachers, education or humanities professors, museum educators, and anyone wanting to know about the lives of average people in the past.
Each chapter includes excerpts from key historical/primary source texts, historical images, essential or compelling questions to focus inquiry, and suggestions for learning activities. Critical analysis and media literacy skills are addressed through the suggested primary source excerpts and activities.
This unique approach to teaching history and social studies in the elementary, middle, or secondary classroom supports thematic instruction. Thematic teaching or thematic instruction highlights a theme through a thematic unit, or a course, or a series of courses within the social studies, or across disciplinary lines to make connections to other classes. Thematic teaching of social history themes connects the past to the daily lives of students, creating more interest in the past and encouraging students to more closely analyze their own lives and culture.
Media literacy, the ability to analyze the content and understand the purpose of media, is addressed throughout. Each themed chapter also includes suggestions for extending each theme to current events, the local community through place-based education.
- Table of Contents
- Above the Cover
- Featured Images:
- Additional Resources:
Read a review in Teaching History, A Journal of Methods
Order from the publisher, Rowman & Littlefield, or other online book retailers.
RELATED PRIMARY SOURCE BAZAAR BLOG POSTS
- Egyptomania: Reviving Ancient Symbols in 19th Century Cemeteries
- Scrapbooks: Comparing 19th-century primary sources to 21st social media
- Almanacs: Information before the Internet
- Cure for the Flu!? Don’t fall for quack cures
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
MORE BOOKS ON SOCIAL HISTORY/EVERYDAY LIFE IN THE PAST BY CYNTHIA RESOR:
- Investigating Family, Food, and Housing Themes in Social Studies
- Exploring Vacation and Etiquette Themes in Social Studies
About the header image: Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia. ca. 1901. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.