What do primary documents reveal about the deep interconnections between West Africa, the Maghreb, and other world regions in the period from approximately 700 - 1600 CE?
When describing West Africa in this period, textbook accounts often focus on the trans-Sahara trade in gold and salt, but the reality is much more complex! This presentation for teachers uses up-to-date scholarship on the regions to reveal ways in which West African empires were deeply interconnected with other...
How did people, goods, and ideas move across the Sahara in the period from approximately 700 - 1600 CE?
When describing West Africa in this period, textbook accounts often focus on the trans-Sahara trade in gold and salt, but the reality is much more complex! This presentation explores the interconnected geographies that stretched from the Mediterranean deep into the West African sahel. Learn about a wide range of trade goods, West African empires, the cities and settlements that...
What are the component parts of the internet and how do they fit together?
The internet is an integral part of our day-to-day lives, but how much do we actually know about this crucial global infrastructure? What are its component parts and how do they fit together? This interactive presentation introduces students to the physical backbone of global communications, providing them with the foundational knowledge to better understand modern issues related to social media, AI,...
How does our digital world affect our physical environment?
Our day-to-day experience of the digital world often leaves the impression that the internet is immaterial. The reality, however, is very different. Our digital worksites, social spaces, entertainment sites, and cloud storage rely on very real physical infrastructure. This physical infrastructure stretches across the globe and uses significant resources, including both energy and water. How environmentally costly is this...
When should we tell the truth? When should we believe someone?
Citizens today are subject to a wide variety of misinformation. But despite the risks, we can't get by without trusting other people. How can we deal with misinformation? In whom should we place our trust?
This lesson will introduce some basic concepts from epistemology (the theory of knowledge), with a focus on feminist epistemology, in an effort to give students some...
What are some of the ways that street art makes me feel that I belong in the city I live in?
This talk looks at the geo-political landscape of two cities through the critical lens of public art: the border city Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico where the speaker grew up and Oakland, CA, where the speaker (and perhaps the student audience) live together. By focusing on how local artists utilize images, words, color, lines and shapes to to express...
How can different kinds of text analysis help us understand a complex social issue?
This talk looks at the experiences of transnational labor migrants in Southeast Asia through the lens of contemporary poetry written by domestic workers in Singapore. Students will use two primary texts to explore a critical question in the history of Singapore’s migration policy: whether it is necessary, reasonable, or ethical to require that domestic workers pass a test to prove English proficiency. First, we will read an excerpted...
How do we identify, understand, and resist the negative implications of widespread adoption of artificial intelligence?
As hype and excitement grows around algorithmic technologies and artificial intelligence, it's more important than ever to understand the broad impacts that AI can have on our society. Especially when governments adopt harmful technologies, or use technology in inappropriate ways, the scale of harm can be massive. Indeed, from facial...
Learn about Maya Mam language, culture, and migration to improve teaching and learning.
Bay Area cities are home to a large Maya Mam-speaking community. This presentation, which is designed for administrators and teachers across disciplines, will provide background knowledge and resources to help educators better support Mam-speaking students and their families. Specifically, educators will learn about the...
How can we explore our feelings about climate change through creative writing?
As environmental crisis escalates, creative writers across genres are increasingly centering feelings related to climate change in their work. Reading this literature can help us access our feelings of grief or anxiety related to the climate crisis, and can illuminate the ways in which poets guide the way for us to reshape our relationship with the natural world to be one of...
