Curriculum Ideas

Books of the Year
Curriculum Ideas

Curriculum Ideas


The UAA/APU Books of the Year program started in 2006 as part of a Ford Foundation Difficult Dialogues initiative--one of only 26 in the country--to provide a safe environment on campuses for discussions about challenging topics.

Below are methods and materials contributed by faculty who have incorporated Books of the Year into their curriculum. These are offered as examples of how the books and the themes they represent can be used as powerful tools to engage students in meaningful, thought provoking reflection and discussion. 

You will find supporting articles, interviews, videos, and links about the 2011-2013 theme of "Money and Morality" under the 2011-2013 Supplemental Materials left hand link.

We will be adding new resources throughout the year!
Please contact booksoftheyear@uaa.alaska.edu if you would like to contribute curriculum ideas.

 
Materials are organized in the following categories:
(click on categories to jump to materials)

-Syllabus-
-Essay-
-Discussion-
-Presentation-
-Reader's Guides-
-Links-
-More Ideas-

 
Syllabus
click on course title to view materials
PRPE 108: Introduction to College Writing
(linked with AKNS 290)
Shannon Gramse, Fall 2010, University of Alaska Anchorage
Book: Yuuyaraq: The Way of the Human Being
SOC 310: Sociology of Aging
Anne Jache, Spring 2010, University of Alaska Anchorage
Book: Shopping for Porcupine by Seth Kantner
SOC 405: Social Change
Anne Jache, Spring 2010, University of Alaska Anchorage
Book: Shopping for Porcupine by Seth Kantner
SOC 101: Introduction to Gerontology
Anne Jache, Fall 2009, University of Alaska Anchorage
Book: The Whale and Supercomputer by Charles Wohlforth
LSSS 312: Individuals, Groups, and Institution
Anne Jache, Fall 2009, University of Alaska Anchorage
Book: The Whale and Supercomputer by Charles Wohlforth
SOC 110: Introduction to Gerontology: A Multidisciplinary Approach
Anne Jache, Fall 2009, University of Alaska Anchorage
Book: Yuuyaraq: The Way of the Human Being by Harold Napoleon
ANTH 200: Natives of Alaska
Phyllis Fast, Spring 2009, University of Alaska Anchorage
Book: Growing Up Native in Alaska edited by A.J McClanahan
ENGL 211: Academic Writing About Literature
Erika Veth, Spring 2009, University of Alaska Anchorage
Book: Yuuyaraq: The Way of the Human Being by Harold Napoleon
PRPE 108: Introduction to College Writing
(linked with AKNS 290)
Shannon Gramse, Fall 2008, University of Alaska
Books: Do Alaska Native People Get Free Medical Care? edited by Libby Roderick; Growing Up Native in Alaska edited by A.J McClanahan; Yuuyaraq: The Way of the Human Being by Harold Napoleon
 
 
Essay
click on course title to view materials
PRPE 108: Introduction to College Writing
Shannon Gramse, Fall 2010, University of Alaska Anchorage
Books:Yuuyaraq:The Way of the Human Being by Harold Napoleon;Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
English 211: Academic Writing About Literature
Erika Veth, Spring 2009, University of Alaska Anchorage
Book: Yuuyaraq: The Way of the Human Being by Harold Napoleon
 
Discussion
click on course title to view materials
SWK 342: Human Behavior in the Social Environment
Mary Dallas Allen, Fall 2011, University of Alaska Anchorage
Book: The Working Poor: Invisible in America by David Shipler
PRPE 108: Introduction to College Writing
(linked with AKNS 290)
Shannon Gramse, Fall 2010, University of Alaska Anchorage
Book: Yuuyaraq: The Way of the Human Being by Harold Napoleon
ENGL 211: Academic Writing About Literature
Erika Veth, Spring 2009, University of Alaska Anchorage
Book: Yuuyaraq: The Way of the Human Being by Harold Napoleon
 
Presentation
click on course title to view materials
ESL 109: Vocabulary Enhancement II
Christina Gheen, University of Alaska Anchorage
Book: Swallows of Kabul by Yasmina Khadra
 
Reader's Guides
click on book title to view guide
Books Themes
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
 by Anne Fadiman
 Immigration and Otherness
06/07
The Handmaid's Tale
by Margaret Atwood
 Religion and Politics
07/08
The Swallows of Kabul
by Yasmina Khadra
 Religion and Politics
07/08
BOTH BOOKS TOGETHER
The Handmaid's Tale
By Margaret Atwood
The Swallows of Kabul
By Yasmina Khadra
 Religion and Politics
07/08
Yuuyaraq:The Way of the Human Being
By Harold Napoleon
 Alaska Natives:
A Call to Understanding
08/09
Growing Up Native in Alaska
edited by A.J. McClanahan
 Alaska Natives:
A Call to Understanding
08/09
The Whale and the Supercomputer
by Charles Wohlforth
 Responding to
Climate Change in Alaska
09/10
Shopping for Porcupine
by Seth Kantner
 Responding to
Climate Change in Alaska
09/10
This is Not Civilization: A Novel
by Robert Rosenberg
 Service in a Foreign Land
10/11
Mountains Beyond Mountains
by Tracy Kidder
 Service in a Foreign Land
10/11
The Big Short:
Inside the Doomsday Machine
by Michael Lewis
Money and Morality
11/12 & 12/13
The Working Poor:
Invisible in America
by David Shipler
Money and Morality
11/12 & 12/13

 
Links
Shopping for Porcupine by Seth Kantner
Don Rearden, University of Alaska Anchorage
Click here for discussion questions, assignment ideas, a conversation with the author, and additional links about the book.
Listen, Then Talk: Using Conversations about Books of the Year to Model Culturally Responsive Teaching
Anne Jache, University of Alaska Anchorage
Click here for Dr. Jache's Difficult Dialogues teaching portfolio detailing methods of incorporating Books of the Year into her curriculum.
Difficult Dialogues
Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence, University of Alaska Anchorage
Click here to learn more about the foundation of the Books of the Year program.

 
More Ideas
Interdisciplinary Book Club. Encourages critical thinking from various perspectives. Different faculty teaching same book in different disciplines bring students together for facilitated discussion.
Class Wiki. Provides opportunity for reflection through collaboration.
eLive. Encourages reflection before commenting.
Ideas from Difficult Dialogues Faculty. Click here for curriculum ideas created and complied by Difficult Dialogues faculty.