North/Central America

Long Teaching Module: Gender and Health in Latin America, 1980-2010
Several decades have passed since the conclusion of what the United Nations addressed as the “Decade for Woman” (1975-1985). In many regions of the world, patriarchal relationships between men and women have been toned down, and hierarchies in gender roles have become less rigid.
Liberian Letters
Liberian Letters will fascinate teachers and students interested in the late history of slavery, manumission, and repatriation of people of African descent to Sub-Saharan coasts.
National Security Archive: Sources on Europe
These materials help students discover that history does not follow a predetermined course, but is the result of decisions, any one of which could drastically alter history’s outcome.
Russian Church and Native Alaskan Cultures
Supplementing each chapter are as many as 31 digitized images or manuscripts. The exhibit is both informative and thought-provoking.
Foreign Relations of the United States, Volume XVII: Near East, 1961-1962
These documents provide crucial historical evidence of the attitudes American diplomats and officials held toward the countries of the Middle East, as well as uncovering aspects of foreign relations from an American perspective at the height of the Cold War.
Vistas: Visual Culture in Spanish America, 1520-1820
Students could speculate on who made the objects, who used them, and how they were used. This would give them a sense of the kind of interpretive work done by historians.
Renunciation case against Gertrudis de Escobar, Mexico, 1659
This document is the proceedings of an 1659 Inquisition case brought against a 14 year old girl. The girl, named Gertrudis de Escobar, was accused of the crime of renouncing God. Gertrudis de Escobar was the child of a black person and a white person, termed at that time a mulata.

Mexican-American War and the Media
The contrast between coverage of the war in the United States and in England is particularly striking.
Activity: Material Culture and Childhood (20th c.)
Childhood is an ever-changing concept that varies from culture to culture across time and space, yet people often think of childhood as universal. Teaching students about children in the past is often a challenging endeavor for this very reason.
