Resources
Student Reading List
The following is a list of texts that are appropriate for students (11th and 12th graders), while the full annotated bibliography, with suggestions for teachers, is listed below. Aside from the anchor text, it is recommended that short excerpts be assigned, or as in the case of the encyclopedia, simply be available to be referenced.
- Renegade Dreams: Living through Injury in Gangland Chicago by Laurence Ralph
- Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Caste: The Origin of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
- The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
- Cambridge Encyclopedia of Anthropology website
Annotated Bibliography
“A Brief Biography of Ellis Walker Woods,” August 27, 2019. https://tulsa.okstate.edu/ewwoods/biography.
Borneman, John, and Abdellah Hammoudi, eds. Being There: The Fieldwork Encounter and the Making of Truth. Berkeley: University of California, 2009.
This book is a collection of essays by renowned anthropologists about conducting fieldwork. They are somewhat dense but engage with some of the key ethical and methodological questions about ethnography. Good for teachers looking for an introduction into some of the major debates in anthropology. The introductory essay is particularly helpful to this end.
Bourdieu, Pierre. Distinction. Routledge, 1987. https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674212770.
Bourdieu’s landmark work on social and cultural capital. This is a dense theoretical text and is only recommended for teachers really wanting to understand the nuances of Bourdieu’s theory.
Clifford, James, and Marcus, George. Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics of Ethnography. University of California Press, 1986.
This seminal work in anthropology sparked a massive debate about the purpose of the discipline and the role of ethnography in elucidating, creating, or obscuring the concept of culture. It is essential reading for teachers of anthropology, but not necessary for other social studies teachers.
“What is SEL?” CASEL. Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. 2021. https://casel.org/what-is-sel/.
The CASEL website provides a broad frame for helping teachers think through SEL and its connection to their curriculum, as well as helpful resources about implementing social and emotional learning.
Drug Policy Alliance. “A Brief History of the Drug War.” Accessed July 20, 2021. https://drugpolicy.org/issues/brief-history-drug-war.
Accessible to students and teachers alike, this is a succinct history of the War on Drugs is very helpful in providing context to the politics around drugs referenced in Renegade Dreams.
Economic Policy Institute. “The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America.” Accessed July 20, 2021. https://www.epi.org/publication/the-color-of-law-a-forgotten-history-of-how-our-government-segregated-america/.
This is a brief summary of Richard Rothstein’s Color of Law and its key points.
Ensminger, M. E., Anthony, J. C., & McCord, J. “The inner city and drug use: Initial findings from an epidemiological study.” Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 48(3), 1997.
Geertz, Clifford. “Deep Hanging Out” The New York Review of Books. Accessed July 18, 2021. https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1998/10/22/deep-hanging-out/. ———. The Interpretation of Cultures. Basic Books, 1973.
Geertz is required reading for anyone teaching anthropology. His 1973 book of essays is probably the most influential work of social anthropology in the last half century. It lays out a framework for thinking about culture and social relations as reading literature, where the underlying meaning is ultimately unknowable, but that shadows of that meaning can be discerned. Read the first essay “Thick Description” and the later essay on the Balinese cock fight. “Deep Hanging Out” is also helpful for more information on the practice and theory of doing ethnography.
Gonzalez, Jennifer. “Deeper Class Discussions with the TQE Method.” Cult of Pedagogy, August 26, 2018. https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/tqe-method/.
Detailed description of the Thought, Question, Epiphany Method, with links to articles from the woman who developed it and helpful images and examples.
Hinton, Jefferey. “Culturally Responsive Inquiry Learning.” Edutopia, July 8, 2021. https://www.edutopia.org/article/culturally-responsive-inquiry-learning.
Howell, James C, and Elizabeth Griffiths. Gangs in America's Communities. 3rd ed. Los Angeles, California: Sage, 2019.
This is a textbook-like text with information about the history and development of gangs. It has a helpful myth-busting section regarding common misconceptions about gangs.
International Baccalaureate®. “The IB Teaching Style.” Accessed July 19, 2021. https://www.ibo.org/benefits/the-ib-teaching-style/.
Kimmerer, Robin Wall. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. Minneapolis, MN: Milkweed Editions, 2013.
Kimmerer’s book is not a work of anthropology exactly, but a hybrid of science, nature writing, social analysis, history, and creative non-fiction. This excellent and accessible book is recommended for trying to develop an anthropological lens on the world, as well as anyone interested in indigenous studies, reciprocity, and relationships between human and non-humans.
“Kula Ring,” New World Encyclopedia. Accessed July 20, 2021. https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Kula_ring.
The Modern Classrooms Project. 2021. https://www.modernclassrooms.org/.
NAACP. “Criminal Justice Fact Sheet,” May 24, 2021. https://naacp.org/resources/criminal-justice-fact-sheet.
Helpful fact sheet for statistics that can inform, and some cases shock, students into the reality of our criminal justice system and the way that it perpetuates systemic racism. These facts are very helpful for contextualizing the incarceration we see in Renegade Dreams.
Ralph, Laurence. Renegade Dreams: Living through Injury in Gangland Chicago. Chicago: University of Chicago, 2014.
The anchor text for this unit, it is discussed in depth in the Part I of the unit.
Rothstein, Stephanie. “Discover, Discuss, Demonstrate: Using Inquiry-Based Learning to Keep Students Engaged.” Edutopia, January 25, 2021. https://www.edutopia.org/article/discover-discuss-demonstrate-using-inquiry-based-learning-keep-students-engaged.
This is a pedagogical article that outlines a feasible way of implementing inquiry-based learning.
Rothstein, Richard. The Color of Law. New York: Norton, 2017.
This is an in-depth history of how the government legislated barriers for African Americans and other non-whites, particularly regarding housing. Essential reading for teachers adapting this unit for a United States history class.
Shelden, Randall G, Sharon Tracy, and William Brown. Youth Gangs in American Society. 4th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2013.
This is also a textbook-like guide unpacking the history and present challenges with youth gangs. It takes a critical view at some of the language used to describe and criticize gang members, while also looking to answers for reducing violence.
Taylor, Keeanga-Yamahtta. Race for Profit. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina, 2019.
This is a deep dive into the history of housing discrimination in the United States, particularly the barriers to African American home ownership. Very helpful reading for teachers seeking to adapt this unit for a United States history class.
Wilkerson, Isabel. Caste: The Origin of Our Discontents. Waterville, ME: Thorndike, 2021. ———. The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration. New York: Random House, 2010.
Both of Wilkerson’s books are excellent entries into the history of race in the United States. Caste is more relevant to this unit and would provide interesting theories for sociology or history students to think through when studying racial inequities. The Warmth of Other Suns is a collection of oral histories of the Great Migration and is excellent for use in a U.S. History class or to provide another methodological perspective.
Wolpert-Gawron, Heather. “What the Heck Is Inquiry-Based Learning?” Edutopia, August 11, 2016. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/what-heck-inquiry-based-learning-heather-wolpert-gawron.
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