Bauer
Calendar and Math (doc)
Maya Cosmology, Ritual and Religion (ppt)
Maya Math and the Calendar (ppt)
Opening Presentation (ppt)

Carle
Connecting to Curriculum (ppt)
Planning Sketch (doc)

O'Dell
Optical Telescopes, Dyer Teacher's Workshop (ppt)

Ohnstad
Archaeology and Archaeoastronomy of Highland Bolivia (and beyond) (ppt)

Schweikert
Sundials: What Time is It (ppt)

Stengel
Rise & Set Azimuths for Solstices, Equinoxes, Cross-Quarter Days & Major/Minor Standstills at North 36º Latitude (pdf)
Reading List/Sampler: Archaeoastronomy & Astronomical Observation (pdf)
Planetary Origins of the Names and Sequence of Days in the Traditional Reckoning of a Week (pdf)
Cultures of Astronomy (ppt)

Teets
Orbital Dynamics of Venus(and some of those other things out there) (ppt)

Trenary
Meteor Myth & Lore (ppt)

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Jane Landers.  University of Illinois Press, 1999.  390 pages.
The first extensive study of the African-American community under colonial Spanish rule, Black Society in Spanish Florida provides a vital counterweight to the better-known dynamics of the Anglo slave South.
Recommendation: High School and College

Ben Vinson III.  Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.  224 pages.
Richardson, a Tuskegee Airman unwilling to live with the racial constraints he found upon returning to the U.S. following World War II, eventually relocated to Mexico, joining a community of black expatriates. In this fascinating memoir, Richardson and Vinson collaborate in recalling Richardson's path to military service, his departure for Mexico in 1950, and his life with as part of the diaspora experience of former black military men living in Mexico, liberated from the racial tensions of the U.S.  This is a revealing look at an overlooked part of black history on the American continent.
Recommendation: High School and College

From Another World

Ana Maria Machado.  Groundwood Books, 2005.  128 pages.
In the course of renovating a farmhouse and its outbuildings in Brazil into a country inn, a group of young friends come upon Rosario, the ghost of a nineteenth-century slave girl.  She tells them of a tragic event that killed her and most of her family and begs for their help.  The youths then piece together the story, drawing readers into the historical drama that took place on the same site.  Machado received the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for her work in 2000. Recommendation: Grades 4 - 8

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Powerpoint presentation - Arthur Demarest, The Ancient Maya (Part I)
Powerpoint presentation - Arthur Demarest, The Ancient Maya (Part II)

The Ancient American World
William Fash and Mary E. Lyons.  Oxford University Press, 2005.  176 pp.
The Ancient American World uses a wide variety of primary sources to tell the story of the native cultures that have existed in the Americas for thousands of years. In this book, the wonders of Mesoamerica and the Andes are explored through engaging narratives based on documents and artifacts ranging from classic Mayan inscriptions to the Aztec Great Temple.
Recommendation: Grades 6-8

Ancient Maya: The Rise and Fall of a Rainforest Civilization
Arthur Demarest.  Cambridge University Press, 2005.  390 pp.
Provides new explanation for the long-standing mystery of the ninth-century abandonment of most of the great Mayan rainforest cities.  Draws lessons from the history of the Classic Maya cities for contemporary society and for the ongoing struggles and resurgence of the modern Maya peoples.
Recommendation:  Grades 10 - 12 and college

The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico
Miguel Leon-Portilla.  Beacon Press, Boston, 1992.  196 pp.
Tells the story of the Spanish conquest from the Aztec perspective.
Recommendation: Grades 9 - 12 and college



A Forest of Kings: The Untold Story of the Ancient Maya
Linda Schele and David Freidel.  William Morrow and Company, Inc., New York, 1990. 542 pp.
The recent interpretation of Maya hieroglyphs has given us the first written history of the New World as it existed before the European invasion. Two central figures in the massive effort to decode the glyphs make this history available for the first time in all its detail.
Recommendation: Grades 10 -12 and college

Popol Vuh: A Sacred Book of the Maya
Victor Montejo, illustrated by Luis Garay.   Groundwood Books, Toronto, 1999. 85 pp. 
A beautifully illustrated collection of Mayan tales of creation and ancestry.
Recommendation: Grades 4 and up; ideal example of mythology for advanced grades

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DICHOS Powerpoint presentation - Voices from Our America
Dichos from Mama: Connecting Panamanian, American, and Caribbean Wisdom, Wit, and History
Powerpoint presentation - Jorge Durand, Retablos: Miracles on the Border [Part I] (Retablos workshop, Sept. 08)
Powerpoint presentation - Jorge Durand, Retablos: Miracles on the Border [Part II] (Retablos workshop, Sept. 08)
Powerpoint presentation - Linda Anderson & Marti Profitt-Streuli, Student Retablo Project [Part I] (Retablos workshop, Sept. 08)
Powerpoint presentation - Linda Anderson & Marti Profitt-Streuli, Student Retablo Project [Part II] (Retablos workshop, Sept. 08)

Of Rage and Redemption: The Art of Oswaldo Guayasamín (.pdf)
A set of three lesson plans on various aspects of the art of renowned Ecuadoran artist Oswaldo Guayasamín.  Lesson plan titles include "Rigoberta Menchú: A Voice for the Voiceless," "The Mexican Roots of Oswaldo Guayasamín: Pan-American Political Art," and "An Artful Protest."  Developed by the Centers for Latin American Studies at Vanderbilt and Georgetown University.
Recommended: Middle and High School

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Cuba:
Dancing with Cuba: A Memoir of the Revolution
Alma Guillermoprieto.  Vintage Press, 2005.  304 pp.
Award-winning Mexican-American journalist Alma Guillermoprieto recounts her experience as a teacher at Cuba's National School of Dance in Havana in 1970.  The book recounts the author's political education and confrontation with the realities of the Cuban revolution.
Recommendation: High school and college

The History of Cuba
Clifford L. Staten.  Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.  176 pp.
An accessible and current history of Cuba.  Tells Cuba's history in eight chronological chapters, beginning with its days as a Spanish colony and ending with modern-day political relations.
Recommendation: High school and college

Dominican Republic:

The following lesson plans and curriculum materials were developed by teachers who participated in our 2008 summer professional development institute La República Dominicana, el pasado y el presente:

Bienvenidos a la República Dominicana - Creating a Travel Brochure
LaTricea Adams
Recommended: Grades 9 - 12
Bienvenidos a la República Dominicana (.ppt)

Vamos al mercado - la comida y los colores
Theresa Bertrand
Recommended: Elementary level
Vamos al mercado - la comida y los colores (.ppt)

Al banco - DR Exchange Project
Jeff Hunt
Recommended: Spanish III
Al banco - DR Exchange Project (.pdf)

Slavery in the Dominican Republic
Alexis Jolfaie
Recommended:  Grades 6 - 8
Slavery in the Dominican Republic (.pdf)

¿Dónde estoy en la República Dominicana?
Katrina King
Recommended: Spanish I & II
¿Dónde estoy en la República Dominicana? (.pdf)
Webquest - Dominican Republic (.pdf)

Vamos de compras
Holly Knox
Recommended: Spanish III and Spanish II Honors
Vamos de compras (.ppt)
Lesson Plan - Vamos de compras (.pdf)
Text for power point (.pdf)

The Era of Trujillo
Cade Robertson
Recommended: Spanish I & II, History, World Geography
The Era of Trujillo (.ppt)

¿Qué hacen los dominicanos?
Bonnie Seay
Recommended: Spanish, all levels
¿Qué hacen los dominicanos? (.ppt)
Power point instructions (.pdf)

Passport to the Dominican Republic
Detoria Smith
Recommended: Spanish I & II
Passport to the Dominican Republic (.pdf)

Transportation in the Dominican Republic
Laura Thielen
Recommended: Spanish I & II
Transportation in the Dominican Republic (.pdf) 

The Feast of the Goat
Mario Vargas Llosa. Picador, 2002. 416 pages.
In 1961 the Dominican Republic languishes under economic sanctions; the Catholic church spurs its clergy against the government; from its highest ranks down, the country is arrested in bone-chilling fear. In The Feast of the Goat Vargas Llosa unflinchingly tells the story of a regime's final days and the unsteady efforts of the men who would replace it. His narrative skates between the rituals of the hated dictator, Rafael Trujillo, in his daily routine, and the laying-in-wait of the assasins who will kill him; their initial triumph; and the shock of fear's release--and replacements. In the novel's final chapters we learn Urania Cabral's story, self-imposed exile whose father was Trujillo's cowardly Secretary of State. Drawn back to the country of her birth from 30 years after Trujillo's assasination, the widening scope of the dictator's cruelty finds expression in her story, and a rapt audience in her extended family. Recommended: High School and College


Dominican Republic: A National History
Frank Moya Pons. Markus Wiener Publishers; 2nd edition,1998.  543 pages.

Comprehensive history of the Dominican Republic.
Recommended: High school and college

In the Time of the Butteflies
Julia Alvarez.  Plume, 2005. 432 pages.
Story of the Mirabal sisters and their struggle against the oppressive regime of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo.
Recommendation: High School and College

In the Time of the Butterflies (DVD)
Directed by Mariano Barroso, MGM, 2000.
Tells the real-life story of the Mirabal sisters, courageous revolutionaries known covertly as las Mariposas ("the Butterflies"). The sisters' years of dissent during the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic led to their eventual murder in 1960, a brutal crime that signaled the beginning of the end for Trujillo. Edward James Olmos, as Trujillo, does a remarkable job of conveying the unique mixture of political intuition and ruthlessness needed to maintain a dictatorship for 30 years, while Hayek delivers a spirited lead performance.
Recommended: High school and above

Haiti:
The Kingdom of This World
Alejo Carpentier.  Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2006.  190 pages.
Novel tells the story of the overthrow of French rule in Haiti and its aftermath.

Recommended: High School and College

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Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World
Mark Pendergrast.  Basic Books, 2000.  554 pages.
Since its discovery in an Ethiopian rainforest centuries ago, coffee has brewed up a rich and troubled history, according to Uncommon Grounds, a sweeping book by business writer Mark Pendergrast. Over the years, the beverage has fomented revolution, spurred deforestation, enriched a few while impoverishing the many, and addicted millions with its psychoactive caffeine. Coffee is now the world's second most valuable legal commodity, behind oil, according to Pendergrast.Recommended: High School and College

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The Festival of the Bones/El Festival de las Calaveras
Luis San Vicente, illustrated by Bryan Byrd.  Cinco Puntos Press, El Paso, Texas, 2002. 
This bilingual storybook  with a poem, in both English and Spanish, illustrated by a whimsical group of skeletons celebrating the Mexican Day of the Dead.  The book closes with more detailed information on the celebration, including suggestions for building altars and recipes for Pan de Muerto and sugar skulls.Recommendation:  Grades K - 4

Calavera Abecedario: A Day of the Dead Alphabet Book
Jeanette Winter.  Harcourt Books Inc., 2004.  48 pp.
This bilingual illustrated children's short story depicts skeletons involved with activities and objects associated with the Mexican Day of the Dead. 
Recommendation: Grades K - 4

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Tecpan Guatemala: A Modern Maya Town in Global and Local Context
Edward F. Fischer, Carol Hendrickson.  Westview Press, 2002.  192 pages.
This case study of a highland Guatemala town examines what it means to be Maya in a rapidly changing and globalized world. In providing an historical synopsis of the Kaqchikel Maya from pre-Columbian and Colonial times to the present day, this volume focuses on the dynamics of clutural boundaries in light of the use of the Kaqchikel language versus Spanish, the growing role of Protestantism and the revitalization of Maya religion versus Catholicism, and the effects of violent civil war on social networks. It examines the role of weaving and export agriculture in linking Tecpanecos to larger economic and political orbits and for defining local, regional, and national identities. As a result, this accessibly written book demonstrates that even seemingly traditional Maya cultural forms are actively constructed in the context of intense global connections. Recommended: College

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Cool Salsa
Lori Carlson.  Fawcett, 1995.  160 pages.
Whether discussing the immigrant's frustration at not being able to speak English, the violence suffered both within and outside of the ethnic community, the familiar adolescent desire to belong, or celebrating the simple joys of life, these fine poems are incisive and photographic in their depiction of a moment. Some of the poets are well-known, others are not, but all contribute to the whole. The Spanish translations capture the sense of the English so well that without the translator's byline one would be hard pressed to discern the original language.  This is a must for multicultural collections, and excellent enrichment material for literature courses.
Recommended: Middle and High School

Twentieth Century Latin American Poetry: A Bilingual Anthology
Stephen Tapscott, Editor.  University of Texas Press, 1996.  444 pages.
A collection of poems from 20th-century Latin American poets.  Text in both English and Spanish.
Recommendation: High School

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The following lesson plans and curriculum materials were developed by teachers who participated in our 2007 summer professional development institute Mexico, Past and Present :

'Bug in a Rug' - Traditional Oaxaca Weavings 
          Scott Putney
          Recommended: Grades 7 - 8 
          Bug in a Rug lesson plan (.pdf) 
          Weaving in Oaxaca - Lessons from Teotitlán del Valle (.ppt)

Day of the Dead 
          Amy Luscinski
          Recommended: Grades 7 - 8 
          Day of the Dead informational materials (.pdf)

Gathering Blue - Lessons from Mitla and Teotitlán del Valle 
          Molly Sehring
          Recommended: Grade 8 
          Gathering Blue connections (.pdf)

Mexico: Immigration and Poverty 
          Samuel Smith
          Recommended: Grades 10 - 12 
          Immigration and Poverty lesson plan (.pdf) 
          Article: A Better Life (.pdf)

Mexico Learning Assessments 
          Lisa Mayo
          Recommended: Grades 9 - 12 
          Mexico Learning Assessment Contract (.pdf)

Mexico Road Rally 
          Scott Putney
          Recommended: Grades 7 - 8 
          Mexico Road Rally - group activity (.pdf)

Mexico Virtual Field Trip 
          Michael & Ricki Laviano
          Recommended: Grades 9 - 12 
          Virtual Field Trip - Lesson Plan (.pdf) 
          Virtual Field Trip - Power point (.ppt) 
          Virtual Field Trip - worksheets (.xls)

The Use of Public Space in Mexico 
          Kristin Crews
          Recommended: Grades 9 - 12 
          Use of Public Space in Mexico (.ppt) 

Voices of the Americas 
          Dr. Jeanne Gore
          Recommended: Grade 12 
          Voices of the Americas bibliography (.pdf) 
          Voices of the Americas lesson plan (.pdf) 

Antonio's Gun and Delfino's Dream: True Tales of Mexican Migration
Sam Quinones.  University of New Mexico Press, 2008.  318 pages.
Quinones takes a keen look the migrant economy—both the rural to urban flow within Mexico, and between the U.S. and Mexico—in these nine skillful, moving stories. He devotes the first, middle and last chapters to Delfino Juárez, a construction worker who left his mountain village in Veracruz to work at Mexico City job sites when he was 12 years old before making his way to Arizona through the Sonora desert, a journey that almost cost him his life.
Recommended: Middle and High School

The Mexicans: A Personal Portrait of a People
Patrick Oster.  Harper Perennial, 2002.  352 pages.
To correct Americans' lack of understanding of Mexico, Oster combines human interest stories, many collected during his years as a Knight-Ridder reporter in Mexico, with carefully interwoven information on and analysis of political, economic, and social issues. The subjects of his short biographies are a cross-section of Mexicans. 
Recommended: High School and College

Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs
Michael D. Coe and Rex Koontz.  Thames and Hudson, 2002.  248 pages.
All regions and major prehistoric civilizations of prehistoric Mexico are covered with the exception of the Maya.  The complexities of Mexico's ancient cultures are perceptively presented and interpreted.
Recommendations: High School and College

Mexico: The Struggle for Democratic Development
Daniel C. Levy and Kathleen Bruhn.  University of California Press, 2006.  375 pages.
This engaging book provides a broad and accessible analysis of Mexico's contemporary struggle for democratic development. Now completely revised, it brings up to date issues ranging from electoral reform and accountability to drug trafficking, migration, and NAFTA. It also considers the rapidly changing role of Mexico's mass and elite groups, and its national institutions, including the media, the military, and the Church.
Recommended: High School and College

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The Path Between the Seas: The Panama Canal
David McCullough.  Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 1977.  698 pages.
Book by noted historian David McCullough that details the people and places involved in building the Panama Canal. Winner of the National Book Award for History.
Recommended: High school and college

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Powerpoint presentation - Lori Catanzaro, Human Rights Abuses in Latin America (from Guayasamín workshop, Feb. 08)

The Heart That Bleeds: Latin America Now
Alma Guillermoprieto.  Vintage, 1995.  368 pages.
A varied and interesting assortment of profiles detailing the daily struggles of citizens and institutions in nine Latin American countries as told by an insightful and articulate journalist writing for The New Yorker from 1989 to 1993. As a native of Mexico and a resident of New York, Guillermoprieto has an excellent vantage point from which to view the successes and failures of Third World countries experiencing the growing pains and culture shock of political, social, and economic evolution and transformation from the customs and values of the old order to the modern, industrialized state of the future. The clash between the new and the old, as these countries strive to become more "Western" and seek to imitate U.S. democratic and capitalistic institutions and practices, sometimes leaves behind a cultural vacuum as well as ethical and logical contradictions, which the author dutifully explicates. Recommended: High school and college

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Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest
Matthew Restall.  Oxford University Press, 2004.  218 pages.
According to historical consensus, the Spanish conquest of the New World was a cataclysm in which superior European technology and organization overwhelmed Native American civilizations. In this daring revisionist critique, Restall describes a far more complex process in which Indians were central participants on both sides of the struggle.
Recommended: High School and College

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