Shared Differences

Book excerpt: This timely volume addresses those who teach and study multicultural topics. Rather than offering a Band-Aid approach to curricular offerings, the contributors demonstrate inclusive, innovative ways to integrate multicultural issues and media into existing courses. In "Struggling for America's Soul: A Search for Some Common Ground in the Multicultural Debate," Lester Friedman leads off the volume with an analysis of the value and necessity of multicultural approaches for today's students and for society at large. The essays that follow provide a wealth of material for organizing courses, including week-by-week syllabi detailing specific writing assignments, bibliographical information on readings, and sources for films and videos. The contributors, who teach at institutions ranging from community colleges through major research universities, describe their experiences teaching students of various ages, backgrounds, and interests. Shared Differences will be of value to all who use media as a tool in their teaching, whether in history, literature, or the social sciences, as well as to those who teach film and video production.