foxbridgeacademy Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 (edited) We did Human Geography(very lite version) a couple years ago and DS really liked it, it was in fact his favorite course we'd done so far. It spurred his interest in what was going on in Ukraine and opened his eyes to what the World was really like outside our little bit of it. DD has expressed an interest in Global Studies and I'd like to design a full credit course. I don't want textbooks, or actually I've already got those figured out, instead I'd like book or Documentary, suggestions like Rawlence's City of Thorns or Gourevitch's We Wish to Inform You.... The most important things: 1. Well Written (I consider both of the books I mentioned to be well written so that caliber). 2. I'd like them to cover more recent events, like in the last 20 maybe 40 years. and last 3. We're liberal atheists so nothing too conservative or from a religious/missionary doctrine. Not that it can't be written by a religious person (Christian, Muslim, Hindu, etc...), in fact that would help cover another course, Comparative Religion, but no preaching. (We're also going to do Economics but that's another post at some point in the future). I do have the list of suggestions by Luckymama and I'm going through them deciding what could be a possibility but if there's anything not on that list (below) or if one of the books on the list is an absolute must, then I'd love your recommendation. I'm trying to change the way we learn, we need more depth I think to hold the kids interest. Luckymama's list The Power of Place by Harm de BlijWhy Geography Matters More Than Ever by Harm de Blij10 Geographic Ideas that Changed the World by Susan Hansen (edited because I couldn't read my handwriting)The Revenge of Geography by Robert KaplanGuns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared DiamondCollapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared DiamondHow Soccer Explains the World by Franklin FoerCows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches: The Riddles of Culture by Marvin HarrisFast Food Nation by Eric SclosserFood Inc by Karl WeberIn Defense of Food by Michael PollanOmnivore's Dilemma by Michael PollanSalt: A World History by Mark KurlanskyCod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World by Mark KurlanskyHot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution and How It Can Renew America by Thomas FriedmanThe Lexus and the Olive Tree by Thomas FriedmanFreakonomics by Steven LevittThe Future of Power by Joseph NyeHow to Run the World by Parag KhannaThe Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Fall of America's Man-Made Landscape by James Howard KunstlerWe Just Want to Live Here: An Unlikely Teenage Friendship in the Two Jerusalems by Amal Rifa'i and Odelia AinbinderHalf the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wu DunnConfucius Lives Next Door by TR ReidThe Middle of Everywhere: The World's Refugees Come to Our Town by Mary PipherThe Kite Runner by Khaled HosseiniRunning the Rift by Naomi Benaron (Rwandan genocide)Red Scarf Girl by Ji-Li JiangBeyond the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo (Mumbai slums)City of Thorns: Nine Lives in the World's Largest Refugee Camp by Ben Rawlence Edited March 4, 2017 by foxbridgeacademy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 That's a heck of a list. I want to know if Luckymama's read all of them. :D I consider Guns, Germs, and Steel to be a must-read. It crosses so many lines: geography, history, biology. In fact, Sailor Dude actually read it for AP Biology. Along the lines of Salt: Spice: The History of a Temptation by Jack Turner A History of World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 Oh, don't think we're going to get to that many but I always like to start with a big list that I whittle down to a few of the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speed.cleaner Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 You might like to look at: Arrival City by Doug Saunders 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 That's a heck of a list. I want to know if Luckymama's read all of them. :D Oh, hush! :lol: That list was combined from multiple sources. Plus, it's missing the last few years of good books and journalism. Add to it "City of Thorns: Nine Lives in the World's Largest Refugee Camp" by Ben Rawlence Stunning and shocking 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 Material World Women in a Material World Hungry Planet What the World Eats 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 You might like to look at: Arrival City by Doug Saunders That book looks really interesting. I may need to read that for myself. Another book worth considering is Shirin Ebadi's Iran Awakening: One Woman's Journey to Reclaim Her Life and Country Ebadi won the Nobel Peace Prize and was the first woman judge in Iran. After the Iranian Revolution, she was demoted to secretarial duties. What stuck with me about the book was reading about her feelings as a young person in academia who wanted the Shah overthrown. She explains that the Iranians are a deeply religious people and that they felt that if the excesses of the West were thrown off, things would be much better for the common Iranian. The expectations Ebadi expresses are reflective of the movements to greater conservatism that we are seeing throughout the world, not just in the US. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 Yeah, City of Thorns is on my Short list. I also really like the idea od Cows, Pigs, Wars and Witches. It seems, from the Amazon preview, to be well written and interesting. Arrival City looks really good too. Another, somewhat similar I found is Exodus: How Migration is Changing the World I'll definitely be getting a couple of these: Material World Women in a Material World Hungry Planet What the World Eats Also looking at what I eat (has 80 different people and their diets in it). Off to look more stuff up. DSD is at a friends house and I have to pick her up in an hour, I need something to keep me awake. :closedeyes: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 (edited) sorry....wrong thread....oops.... Edited March 4, 2017 by HollyDay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jilly Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 Thanks for posting this. I am trying to put together a syllabus for AP Human Geography for DS this coming year. There are so many great books recommend here. Now I just have to figure out what resources to use. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted March 5, 2017 Author Share Posted March 5, 2017 Thanks for posting this. I am trying to put together a syllabus for AP Human Geography for DS this coming year. There are so many great books recommend here. Now I just have to figure out what resources to use. :) That's kind of my thinking too. I want DD to have the option of taking the AP. At the same time I want her to have a deeper understanding of what she might face should she go into Global Studies, the good the bad and the apathetic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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