Photo of Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Education Project students in the University Hall courtyard.

Upcoming Programs and Events

Upcoming Events


Analyzing Propaganda & Teaching Media Literacy: The Holocaust as a Case Study

Echoes & Reflections Workshop
Friday, March 22, 2024 | 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Register: https://bit.ly/MediaLiteracy2024

Free & open to all New Jersey K-12 educators and Montclair State University students, faculty, and staff!

This professional development workshop offers hands-on training in how to teach about the Holocaust in meaningful and effective ways, and prepares teachers to help students analyze propaganda and develop critical media literacy skills.

Why attend this program?

Media literacy skills have become essential for young people to successfully navigate and critically assess the ever-increasing amount of information they receive throughout their day — on social media, advertisements, television, and film. Therefore, it is crucial for students to comprehend and identify how media, both historically and in contemporary society, can be used as a tool to incite hate and violence against certain groups.

This learning opportunity examines the events of the Holocaust through the lens of media, by examining propaganda deployed by the Nazis to discriminate against Jews and other minorities. Educators will gain the tools to facilitate classroom discussions on the role and impact of Nazi propaganda during the Holocaust and support their students to critically analyze media in today’s world.

Includes hands-on activities, lesson plans, resources including primary sources like photos, historical texts, and survivor testimony, and more.

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Past Events

The Armenian Genocide, One Family’s Story

 


Special Exhibit
August 28, 2023 – December 15, 2023

ADP Center for Learning Technologies
Suite 1122 University Hall


Opening Reception | Friday, September 22, 2023 | ADP Center

The Armenian Genocide exhibit, hosted in the ADP Center for Learning Technologies, traces the journey of Arek and Moses Zakarian from the turn of the twentieth century in the Ottoman Empire through genocide, survival, migration, and reemergence in the United States.

Visitors will engage with the family’s personal photos, memoirs, musical instruments, artifacts, and artwork – all of which serve as a backdrop to the broader history of the Armenian Genocide and related issues, including cultural loss and collective memory.

Importantly, the Zakarian story connects us to other survivor and refugee communities in New Jersey, highlighting our common humanity.

No registration necessary, parking is available in the Red Hawk visitor’s parking deck for a fee.

This exhibit is up and open to the public during the normal hours of the ADP Center for Learning Technologies through December 15, 2023. For more information or to schedule a class visit, please contact Dr. Zoë Burkholder, Director of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Huan Rights Education Project at burkholderz@montclair.edu.

Sponsored by The College for Education and Engaged Learning, The ADP Center for Learning Technologies, Stockton University, and the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education.

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Teaching about Genocide: An Echoes & Reflections Workshop

Friday, October 27, 2023 | 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Register: https://bit.ly/TeachGenocide

Free and open to all New Jersey K-12 educators and MSU students!

The Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Education Project at Montclair State University is honored to host a new Echoes & Reflections workshop: Teaching about Genocide. This workshop is designed to prepare secondary teachers teach about historical genocides in compassionate and meaningful ways. This is hard — but vitally important — work, and in the state of New Jersey educators are required to help students understand genocides including the Holocaust. We’re here to help with hands on, engaging lessons you can bring straight to your classroom. Appropriate for beginners and more experienced teachers– all are welcome, come as you are.

What is genocide? Who were the people before they became victims? How did genocide occur? How do we remember a genocide? In asking these questions about four genocides of the 20th century, the purpose of this program and accompanying teaching material is to encourage critical thinking in students to explore the concept of genocide and analyze some of the common themes seen across multiple genocides. This unit challenges students to find value and meaningful lessons in the study of genocide and how memory and the understanding of genocides of the past can empower them to act against hatred today.

Includes a visit to our special exhibit this fall at Montclair State University: Armenian Genocide:
One Family’s Story.

Sponsored by The College for Education and Engaged Learning, The New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education, and Echoes & Reflections.

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Book Talk:
Touchy Subject: The History and Philosophy of Sex Education
by Dr. Lisa Andersen and Dr. Lauren Bialystok

Friday, November 17, 2023 | 12:45 PM – 2:00 PM
ADP Center for Learning Technologies, University Hall

Free and Open to the MSU Community! Presentation will be followed with a Q & A session.

Join authors Dr. Lisa Andersen and Dr. Lauren Bialystok for a riveting discussion of their new book!

In the United States, sex education is more than just an uncomfortable rite of passage: it’s a political hobby horse that is increasingly out of touch with young people’s needs. In Touch Subject, philosopher Lauren Bialystok and historian Lisa M. F. Andersen unpack debates over sex education, explaining why it’s worth fighting for, what points of consensus we can build upon, and what sort of sex education schools should pursue in the future.

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Protecting Human Rights, Human Dignity, and the Environment: 75 Years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Saturday, December 9, 2023 | 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
University Hall 1050

Register: https://bit.ly/ProtectHumanRights

Free and Open to the Public, K-12 educators will receive professional development hours!

Join the New Jersey chapter of Human Rights Educators USA and Montclair State University for a special commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) – a milestone achievement of collective, global commitment to human dignity.

This human rights education workshop is for K-12 teachers and anyone dedicated to social justice & environmental education.

We will investigate the relationship between human rights and the environment — because “everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person,” yet for many people these core principles are under threat due to global warming and environmental racism.

How can educators support human rights? How can we draw on current scholarship to teach about the vital importance of protecting the environment and taking positive steps to ensure social justice for marginalized communities facing threats of increasing air temperatures, rising sea levels, and more frequent wildfires and catastrophic weather events?

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Sponsored by the College for Education and Engaged Learning, Human Rights Educators USA, and the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education.


Human Rights Education Internship

Human Rights Education Interns Spring 2023
Spring Semester, 2024
Open to all Montclair State University undergraduate students
Application Link: https://bit.ly/HumanRightsIntern2024

Build your resume and get hands-on experience teaching for social justice.

Gain professional experience in Human Rights Education.

This competitive internship is open to all Montclair State undergraduate students, preference is given to upperclassmen. Interns accepted into the program must register for a three-credit course: EDFD 445 Human Rights Education, Monday and Thursday, 12:45-2:00 pm, Spring 2024.

Apply today, deadline for application: November 1, 2023

Select a human rights topic, research it, then teach it at a local K-12 school.

You may select any topic you like as long as it can be broadly understood as a human rights issue. You may focus on the US or another country, or do a comparative project. Past topics have included: Black Civil Rights, Dreamers & DACA, Environmental Justice, Antisemitism, Women’s Rights, Native American History, Refugee Crisis, AAPI History, LGBTQ+ Rights, Reproductive Rights, Food Insecurity, Religious Freedom, the Holocaust, Freedom of the Press, Religious freedom, Mental Health Care, Prejudice and Stereotyping, Food insecurity, housing insecurity, migrant crises, School segregation and inequality, School to prison pipeline, Mental health disparities, Black Lives Matter, Disability rights, etc.. You’re invited to select or create a topic that you find interesting and important. Students are encouraged to select a topic related to their future professional work, and/or a class they have already completed.

For a complete list of past topics, check out our Human Rights Lesson Plans.

Any questions, please contact Prof. Burkholder at burkholderz@montclair.edu

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