Teaching Shabanu: the challenges of using world literature in the US social studies classroom

• Published in: Journal of curriculum studies 2005-09, Vol.37 (5), p.561-582
• Main Author: Smith Crocco, Margaret
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Curriculum subjects: programmes and methods; Curriculumentwicklung; Educational sciences; Females; Fiction; Frauenbild; gender issues; Humanities; Internet; Interviews; Islam; Lehrerausbildung; Social and human sciences; Social Studies; Sozialkunde; Student Attitudes; Teacher Education; Teaching Methods; Vereinigte Staaten; Weltgeschichte; Weltliteratur; world history; World Literature; Young Adults
• ISSN: 0022-0272; 1366-5839
• DOI: 10.1080/0022027042000310692

This paper discusses inclusion of global literature in social studies curricula, especially in teaching about women of the world. It analyses the attraction of, and difficulties with, a popular work of young adult fiction, Shabanu, often taught in US middle-school social studies and humanities classrooms. It uses the framework of post-colonial, feminist theorizing and critical, post-structuralist considerations in history and literature to analyse the novel. It draws on several sources: my experiences in incorporating the book into a teacher-education course in social studies education; interviews with teachers and teacher educators; testimonials about the book available on the Internet, including the reactions of Muslim groups in the USA; and interviews with Pakistani-American students about their reactions to the book. (Zusammenfassung vom Verlag übernommen).